I just discovered this massively ignorant software design issue tonight when I was trying to back up my phone and photos.
This isn't great. It's a waste of everyone's time. That's right, Apple wasted YOUR time for every photo that you took using a filter.
They never explained that the photos would not be permanent or non-transferable for pc users, that the "new photo software options" were in fact useless toy options. Even using icloud causes reduced resolution, which isn't what I want.
I have 138 photos that were taken with the filter on, in order to get the best color and response via that filter mode. Now, I have 138 photos that are bland and uninteresting without re-editing everything, for which I have to find software in order to reproduce the same colors. Where is the reimbursement of my time? Why wasn't I informed that filter settings were not permanent?
This is not a DSLR camera and the "average person" using their phone's camera doesn't need or want a RAW format photo. We want the picture that we took and we want to be able to get to them easily - and that includes being able to access these files through pc folder menus, not just "importing functions". This is the kind of thing that deserves a lawsuit when, enmasse, people are deceived or have wasted time and effort through false portrayal of function.
I wish they'd never put the stupid filters into the OEM camera software. The filter menu should bear a warning about this issue. Why do I have to sit around all night going back and forth with the jpg's on my pc and those on the phone in order to make adjustments or take notes about what the original photos looked like to try and reproduce pics?
I prefer the iPhone to alternatives on the market, but this is so incredibly stupid for something so expensive. If anyone from Apple reads this, either get rid of the filters or get rid of the stupid sidecar files and make the photos work as the people who buy these phones want them to.