One thing about the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max has been clear for a while: Apple plans to lean hard into beefing up the Pro camera system even while scaling cameras back on the iPhone 17 Air. Now, a new leak from Jon Prosser reveals an exclusive software feature coming to the Camera app for this year’s Pro models.
Simultaneous video recording with front and rear cameras coming to iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
Last night Jon Prosser posted a new video containing some of the best looks yet at what iOS 19’s new design might look like.
He ends the video with a surprise leak that’s technically iOS 19 related, but actually has more to do with Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 line.
Prosser says the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will have an exclusive feature for the Camera app: the ability to record front and rear-facing video simultaneously.
As seen in the mockup above, this will look a lot like being on a FaceTime call, with the bulk of the screen dedicated to the rear camera view, while a smaller window shows the front-facing video.
The iPhone for years has supported recording from multiple cameras at once using third-party apps. But Apple has never previously brought that feature to the built-in Camera app, and apparently it plans to do so this year.
9to5Mac’s Take
This will no doubt be a nice feature to have for YouTubers and other video creators, but making it exclusive to the 17 Pro and Pro Max is certainly disappointing—especially since third-party apps can already do this on a wider range of devices.
Perhaps the A19 Pro chip that will be Pro-exclusive makes the feature possible in a way the standard A19 can’t. Or there’s something special Apple’s doing that third-party apps haven’t yet achieved. Of course, Apple could also just want to provide more reasons to upgrade to a Pro model—as it does each year.
In any case, I find it funny that this leak happened just hours after I wrote the following about accepting the iPhone 17 Air’s single camera limitation:
Will Apple introduce some fancy new camera features on the iPhone 17 Pro that make me reconsider? Possibly. But based on what I know now, I feel a lot more comfortable saying the iPhone 17 Air is for me.
Would you use this new iPhone 17 Pro camera feature? Let us know in the comments.
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