Apple’s latest iPhone ad shows a different kind of portrait mode ‘fail’

Portrait mode causes some uncomfortable tension between two parents in Apple’s latest iPhone commercial, which has got to be one of the funnier spots that the company has produced in some time. In the ad, one mother is swiping through photos of the group’s kids when another notices that her son has been blurred and made unrecognizable by the iPhone’s portrait mode. She asks, “Did you... bokeh my child?” The ensuing conversation demonstrates how the effect can be dialed back or turned off altogether to get both kids in sharp focus — but the damage has already been done.

Be considerate with your bokeh, people. This is also advice that extends to Android, as many devices now offer adjustable portrait blur. Apple doesn’t usually go for awkward humor with its marketing, but I’m into it. The “Why do you hate Jacob?” got me pretty good.

I’m still one for just sticking with the regular camera mode, though. Maybe that changes once you have kids.