Most of the winning shots were taken on older iPhones
These three shots were all winners in the 'Children' (left), Portrait (middle) and 'Abstract' (right) categories at the iPhone Photography Awards 2024(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Soledad Barranca Miron / Enhua Ni / Glenn Homann)
The iPhone 16 Pro rumors might be promising some improved optical zoom and a better wide-angle camera, but the new winners of the iPhone Photography Awards 2024 show you don't need a new iPhone to take great snaps.
The competition, now in its 17th year, runs independently of Apple but has become a staple in the smartphone-snapping calendar. It claims to be the world's longest-running iPhone photography competition – and as you'd expect, some fine photos are spread across its 15 categories.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is understandably the most well-represented camera in the awards – it was used for 10 out of the 46 award-winning shots. However, the awards are by no means dominated by new Apple models. The second most popular phones were the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone X, which were used in four winning shots each.
A couple of photos were even shot on iPhones that won't even support iOS 18 when it lands next month. First place in the 'Animals' category (shot by Colin Hoskins) was taken on an iPhone 7 Plus, which launched back in 2016. Meanwhile, the top spot in the 'People' category (an eerie shot of some renovators at an LA motel by Brooke Wilen) was taken on an iPhone 6S. 'The best camera is the one you have with you' may be a cliché, but it's also true.
What's clear from the winners below is that composition and a little editing both trump hardware these days. Very few shots appear to be 'straight out of camera', with many displaying the tell-tale signs of color tweaks from the best photo editing apps like Snapseed and Lightroom, or a tasteful black-and-white conversion.
While the competition's rules stated that "photos should not be altered in Photoshop or any desktop image processing program", that does leave the room open for mobile editors – and there's nothing wrong with that in our book.
Looking for some World Photography Day inspiration? Here's a gallery of all of this year's award winners, and the iPhone that was used for each shot...
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Overall winner
Grand Prize Winner, by Erin Brooks (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max) (Image credit: IPPA Awards / Erin Brooks)
The judges chose the shot above, Boy Meets Sharkby Erin Brooks, as their Grand Prize Winner. Erin is no stranger to the awards, having previously come second in the Portrait category in 2022 and winning the Series category in 2021. The black-and-white shot was taken on an iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Taken in Tampa, Florida, the shot captures the moment a young boy comes close to a huge shark – behind the safety of glass at least – with the judges stating it symbolizes "the innocence of youth juxtaposed with the mysteries of the deep sea." The processing also fittingly gives it a picture-book quality.
It certainly wasn't the only standout entry, though, as you can see in the galleries of the other category winners below...
Photographer of the year
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First place in 'Photographer of the Year', by Glen Wilbert (shot on an iPhone 11 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Glen Wilbert)
Second place in 'Photographer of the Year', by Anthony Maureal (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Anthony Maureal)
Third place in 'Photographer of the Year', by Wenlong Jiang (shot on an iPhone 14)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Wenlong Jiang)
Abstract
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First place in 'Abstract' category, by Jose Manuel Garcia Gonzalez (shot on iPhone 14 Pro Max) (Image credit: IPPA / Jose Manuel Garcia Gonzalez)
Second place in 'Abstract' category, by Verity Milligan (shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Verity Milligan)
Third place in 'Abstract' category, by Glenn Homann (shot on iPhone 11 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Glenn Homann)
Animals
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First place in 'Animals', by Colin Hoskins (shot on an iPhone 7 Plus)(Image credit: IPPA awards / Colin Hoskins)
Second place in 'Animals', by Huapeng Zhao (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA awards / Huapeng Zhao)
Third place in 'Animals', by Rebecca Horrocks (shot on iPhone 13)(Image credit: IPPA awards / Rebecca Horrocks)
Architecture
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First place in Architecture, by Leping Cheng (shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Leping Cheng)
Second place in 'Architecture', by Yixi Luo (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Yixi Luo)
Third place in 'Architecture', by Stephanie Weber (shot on an iPhone 11 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Stephanie Weber)
Children
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First place in 'Children', by Daniel de Cerqueira (shot on an iPhone 11)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Daniel de Cerqueira)
Second place in 'Children', by Soledad Barranca Miron (shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Soledad Barranca Miron)
Third place in 'Children', by Ron Hendricks (shot on an iPhone 13)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Ron Hendricks)
Cityscape
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First place in 'Cityscape', by Yanzhou Chen (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Yanzhou Chen)
Second place in 'Cityscape', by Aliaksandr Kaptsevich (shot on an iPhone X) (Image credit: IPPA Awards / Aliaksandr Kaptsevich)
Third place in 'Cityscape', by James Kittendorf (shot on an iPhone X)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / James Kittendorf)
Landscape
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First place in 'Landscape', by Paddy Chao (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Paddy Chao)
Second place in 'Landscape', by Alessandra Manzotti (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Alessandra Manzotti)
Third place in 'Landscape', by Qu Lu (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Qu Lu)
Lifestyle
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First place in 'Lifestyle', by Glen Wilbert (shot on an iPhone 11 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Glen Wilbert)
Second place in 'Lifestyle', by Leo Huang (shot on an iPhone 11)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / )
Third place in 'Lifestyle', by Leo Huang (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / )
Nature
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First place in 'Nature', by Shinya Itahana (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Shinya Itahana)
Second place in 'Nature', by Scott Galloway (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Scott Galloway)
Third place in 'Nature', by Linda Repasky (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Linda Repasky)
Other
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First place in 'Other', by Jun Hu (shot on an iPhone 7)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Jun Hu)
Second place in 'Other', by Shuo Li (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Shuo Li)
Third place in 'Other', by Chan Nyein Aung (shot on an iPhone 14 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Chan Nyein Aung)
People
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First place in 'People', by Brooke Wilen (shot on an iPhone 6S)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Brooke Wilen)
Second place in 'People', by George Allen (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / George Allen)
Third place in 'People', by Chi Zhang (shot on an iPhone XS)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Chi Zhang)
Portrait
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First place in 'People', by Artem-Koleganov (shot on an iPhone X)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Artem-Koleganov)
Second place in 'People', by Enhua Ni (shot on an iPhone X)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Enhua Ni)
Third place in 'Portrait', by Manush Kalwari (shot on an iPhone SE)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Manush Kalwari)
Series
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First place in 'Series', by Xingping Zhou (shot on an iPhone 13)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Xingping Zhou)
Second place in 'Series', by Wang WeiChao (shot on an iPhone 8 Plus)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Wang WeiChao)
Third place in 'Series', shot on an iPhone 13 Pro(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Philip Parsons)
Still Life
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First place in 'Still life', by Dai Fushun (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Dai Fushun)
Second place in 'Still life', by Yu Jiang (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Yu Jiang)
Third place in 'still life', by David Fish (shot on an iPhone 12 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / David Fish)
Travel
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First place in 'Travel', by Khalid Mahmood (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Khalid Mahmood)
Second place in 'Travel', by Hao Wen (shot on an iPhone 13 Pro)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Hao Wen)
Third place in 'Travel', by Gyula Somogyi (shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max)(Image credit: IPPA Awards / Gyula Somogyi)
Mark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile.
