prolost:

Apple calls their initial two-lens computational photo offering Portrait Mode, and the most recent developer beta of iOS 10.1 includes a beta version of it. Under the right circumstances, this mode enables a so-called “Depth Effect,” where both cameras fire simultaneously, and a depth map is built based on the subtle stereo disparity between the captured images. This nine-level depth map is used to drive a variable-radius blur. The result is a photo with simulated shallow depth of field.

This process can never be perfect, but can it be good enough?

Oh hell yes it can.

It doesn’t work all the time, every time like a DSLR does but, for the vast majority of people who don’t lug around a DSLR every day, Portrait Mode will work just fine for them.