ProRAW (n.) Apple’s hybrid image format, available on iPhone 12 Pro and later, that merges the editing flexibility of a traditional RAW file with Apple’s computational image processing pipeline. The result is a file that has already been through Night Mode, Smart HDR, or Deep Fusion — but still retains enough underlying data to survive heavy editing without falling apart.
The Problem It Solves
Standard RAW files capture what the sensor sees and nothing more. On a standalone camera, that’s ideal: you apply your own processing in Lightroom and have full control. On a phone, it’s a problem. A standard RAW from an iPhone bypasses all of Apple’s computational work — no multi-frame noise reduction, no Deep Fusion texture, no Night Mode stack. The RAW file often looks worse than the JPEG because you’re getting raw sensor data without the AI processing that makes iPhone photos look like iPhone photos.
ProRAW solves this by delivering the result of Apple’s computational photography pipeline as a 12-bit DNG file. You get the cleaned-up, composited image — with all that processing baked in — plus significantly more headroom for editing exposure, shadows, highlights, and color than a JPEG or HEIC would give you.
The Trade-Offs
ProRAW files are large — typically 20–35MB each versus 3–5MB for HEIC. On a 256GB iPhone that’s manageable if you’re selective. On a 128GB model with a lot of video already on it, you’ll feel the pressure quickly. The phone also takes a moment longer to write ProRAW files, which matters if you’re shooting fast-moving sequences.
Google offers something similar on Pixel devices via Uncompressed RAW in its Pro controls. Samsung’s Expert RAW app takes a comparable approach. The concept is the same across all of them: provide RAW access alongside the computational result, rather than forcing you to choose one or the other.
Use ProRAW for landscapes, portraits that matter, and low-light scenes where you’ll be doing real editing afterward. Leave it off for casual shooting — HEIC is excellent and a fraction of the size.
