There needs to be a control example. Show us how these scenes would look on iPhone 14 or a random Samsung. How much is from the camera, and how much of the image is the subject matter.
I am impressed that he used the default Camera app and not a 3rd party like Halide.
But, I also want to know how much tweaking was done in post-processing. Sounds like he used Apple's ProRaw format, which I haven't played with much. Does it need the same level of processing as a normal Raw from a consumer mirrorless camera? Or is it as simple as hitting the "Enhance" button in the Photos app?
I think it would inspire other photographers to not sweat the equipment factor too much.
The fact he use light painting as a theme is not random in my opinion, because it is one of the "subjects" in photography where it is easier to make up for a worse quality sensor. You just need a tripod and patience. Which is exactly what he did (he is a photographer he knows his stuff it seems...). If it were about instantaneous shots, the iphone wouldn't far as well and way worse if we were to compare with pro level camera.
The difficulty for a sensor/optics combo is to capture as much details as possible as fast as possible (movings things will create all kinds of artifacts). Which is why a camera that is able to capture a fast moving car in lots of details is expensive.
But Apple is trying to sell their stuff as if it could compete or even replace that kind of gear by using shots that were deliberately constrained to a much easier form of photography.
This is disingenuous and pure marketing nonsense...