

It replicates an effect typically limited to larger cameras known as SLRs. The feature, which Apple calls portrait mode, was announced in September, but unavailable until Apple released its iOS 10.1 software update Monday, Oct. Apple's iPhone 7 Plus is getting a new camera capability: the blurring of backgrounds to focus attention on people in the foreground. 16, 2016, file photo, a customer sets up his new iPhone 7 Plus, right, as he switches from an iPhone 6 at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue during the release of the Apple iPhone 7 and the latest Apple Watches, in Chicago. When shooting multiple people, make sure everyone's the same distance from the camera to keep them all sharp. The screen will guide you to move closer or farther from the subject, or in some cases, find a setting with more light. Then take a few steps back, as the feature taps the zoom on the iPhone 7 Plus's second lens, meaning images are enlarged two-fold. To use the feature, slide the mode at the bottom of the camera app to "portrait." It's between "photo" and "square."

The software update will still be available for other iPhones because it also comes with bug fixes and other improvements. Portrait mode requires an iPhone 7 Plus because it uses the phone's two lenses to sense depth. While SLRs accomplishes this by controlling how wide the lens opens, the iPhone uses software adjustments. Apple first announced the "portrait mode" feature in September but it wasn't available until the company released its iOS 10.1 software update Monday.
