What is actually wrong with most photos
The same three faults account for most disappointing photos: a colour cast from indoor lighting that turns whites yellow, flat contrast from haze or backlight, and the mild softness every phone sensor produces. None of them is damage — the information is there, presented badly.
Auto enhancement here is those three corrections with sensible strengths: a grey-world white balance to neutralise the cast, a percentile-clipped contrast stretch to use the full tonal range, and a restrained sharpening pass. Saturation gets a nudge, not a shove.
Because each correction is a slider, auto is a starting point rather than a verdict. Food photos often want more colour, portraits want less sharpening, and a deliberately moody shot wants the contrast pulled back — you decide, watching the preview.