From Apple to Samsung: 7You on the five clever features in five new smartphones that will convince you to buy one of them

I saw it firsthand in the mad rush after Apple’s launch at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.

Everyone piling into the demo area, phones in hand, trying to work out what was actually new.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone is one of the flashiest examples, but the bigger story is that the whole industry is rethinking what a phone camera can do.

Phones can now feed you your lines while you film, follow the right person through a video, and even turn a photo into footage that never happened.

I’m a bit embarrassed by how often I pull my phone out just to use the camera.

Type “cat” into my photos and it coughs up over 9,000 results. Nine thousand pictures and videos of the cat.

My point is the camera is one of the most-used things on the phone, so the makers have spent years refining it until it basically can’t miss.

Point a decent phone at anything today and you get a good shot. They can all do it.

Which is a problem if your job is selling the phone, because when every camera is great, “great camera” stops being a reason to buy yours.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone has something no iPhone before it has had, a second screen facing the person you’re photographing.

Duo Preview puts a live view of the shot on that outer screen, so they can check their pose and framing while you take the photo.

Then there’s Kid Cue, which plays Peanuts animations on the outer screen to grab a child’s attention and get them looking towards the camera.

I have a nephew who will not smile when you ask him to, so this could be an easy win.

You can take a selfie using the higher-resolution rear cameras while seeing yourself on the outer screen, or prop the phone up without a tripod for longer videos.