The IPhone 17’s Front Camera Will Make Taking Selfies Much Easier
All four iPhone models unveiled at Apple’s September 2025 event got an interesting camera upgrade: the iPhone 17, iPhone Air , iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max all feature a brand-new 18-megapixel Center Stage front camera. I don’t care much about megapixels, but I do care about quality of life improvements, and the Center Stage camera lets you take different types of selfies without having to turn your iPhone.
Apple has ditched the standard 4:3 sensor for the iPhone’s front-facing camera. Instead, the Center Stage camera features a square sensor for the first time on an iPhone, which offers higher resolution and a wider field of view. This lets you hold your iPhone vertically and shoot photos and videos in portrait or landscape mode, depending on your preference. Apple says you’ll be able to take photos with four different compositions without having to rotate your phone.
During the iPhone 17 event, Apple showed a pre-recorded demo of a group of people taking selfies using the Center Stage camera. First, one person takes a photo, and then others join in. The demo shows how the Camera app automatically recognizes people’s faces and expands the frame without user intervention. If it works as advertised, this could make group selfies easier to take.
Personally, I’ve always hated taking group selfies because I find it so hard to hold my heavy iPhone Pro Max in landscape orientation. In portrait orientation, I hold the phone more naturally and can easily press the volume buttons to take a photo. The iPhone 17 models should let me do just that, but I can take photos in landscape orientation, too.
The new front-facing camera on the iPhone 17 also shoots better video. Apple says the Center Stage camera delivers ultra-high 4K HDR video stabilization, meaning you’ll get less shaky video even from the front camera, including during FaceTime video calls or other apps where the Center Stage is designed to be more stable and in frame. An added benefit of the new sensor is Dual Capture, which lets you record video from both the front and rear cameras at the same time, which could be especially useful for content creators.