Apple seems to have abandoned Cinematic mode, which is frustrating because it's so close to being great. A video experiment shows the feature still struggles with basic tasks like keeping focus on a subject against a background. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has plenty of power, yet the mode hasn't improved much since its debut.

While casual viewers may not notice the flaws, anyone serious about filmmaking will. It's time Apple updated this feature to take advantage of current hardware.