Not Enough People Are Talking About The Iphone 17's Best Feature Upgrade In Years

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The iPhone 17 bid houses a quadrate sensor for Center Stage selfies.
• Apple introduced ultra-stabilized video shooting to nan iPhone's selfie camera, and it's really useful.
• These features are disposable crossed each 4 caller iPhones.

I precocious shifted to nan iPhone 17 Pro Max from my iPhone 16 Pro, reasoning nan caller 4x telephoto camera and vapor cooling enclosure would beryllium nan upgrades I announcement nan most. But aft utilizing nan caller iPhone for weeks now, my favourite prime turned retired to beryllium the selfie camera. Odd, right?

Also: I've utilized each iPhone 17 model, and my yearly buying proposal is changing successful 2025

Many mightiness disregard nan caller selfie camera arsenic a insignificant feature, but nan 18MP sensor is much astir quality-of-life upgrades than conscionable a megapixel bump. It is housed wrong each caller iPhone, including nan iPhone Air, and offers capabilities that will undoubtedly beryllium copied by nan title -- not because they're trendy but because they're convenient and heighten nan wide personification experience.

A bigger woody than we think

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As a refresher, nan iPhone 17 bid comes equipped pinch a caller 18MP Center Stage camera housed successful a quadrate sensor. It lets you sprout scenery selfies without needing to move your telephone successful that orientation. The package automatically repositions its framing based connected nan number of group successful nan photo, and it useful amazingly well! 

Apple's Center Stage is 1 of those uncommon artificial intelligence features that's reliable and useful without you needing to fiddle pinch nan settings. But nan champion portion is that Center Stage useful successful third-party apps. 

Also: Apple's iPhone 17 will everlastingly alteration really we return selfies - including connected Android phones

I emotion it erstwhile nan characteristic kicks successful connected my WhatsApp video calls. I tin beryllium moving astir doing nan chores (I can't beryllium still), but nan camera keeps maine successful nan framework and helps maine annoy my woman a small less. I've recovered Center Stage very useful for Zoom calls connected my MacBook Air, and I'm gladsome it is yet disposable connected my most-used app connected iPhone.

Center Stage for photos connected iPhone 17 Pro Max

Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET

I person besides started shooting much selfies and videos, acknowledgment to auto-framing and ultra-stabilized video features. I for illustration selfies for their much friendly videos and in-the-moment vibes successful group shots. However, astatine times, nan infinitesimal is mislaid by nan clip you move nan telephone to scenery orientation. But nan iPhone 17 fixes this. 

You tin participate nan camera, move to selfie mode, and Center Stage for photos will automatically set nan framing according to nan number of group successful nan group. It is fast, intuitive, and conscionable works. It besides keeps you successful nan infinitesimal by uncovering nan champion framing automatically. All you request to do is make judge nan Auto Zoom and Auto Rotate options are turned connected successful nan viewfinder. 

The accessibility gains from nan caller selfie

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

The iPhone 17 besides improves selfie video seizure pinch ultra-stabilized videos. This mightiness not look for illustration a large betterment connected paper, but it is different upgrade that makes my life easier. 

Also: I took nan iPhone 17 connected a travel to Hawaii, and it surpassed my expectations (until it didn't)

I unrecorded pinch a tense upset that causes changeless tremors successful my hands, which often makes my selfie videos shaky -- particularly successful debased light. The result? Awkward, jittery footage that's kept maine from signaling aliases posting online. After all, nary 1 wants to watch a trembling vlog from a motorboat event. But nan caller iPhones mightiness yet alteration that.

The iPhone 17 Pro is nan first telephone that really makes maine want to grounds myself much often. I tin sprout smooth, stabilized 4K 60fps video without switching to Action mode aliases flipping to nan rear cameras. The footage is steadier, cleaner successful debased light, and -- yet -- thing I'm proud to stock pinch nan world.

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

Whether I'll really commencement posting from motorboat events astir nan world is different mobility -- but astatine slightest now, my videos tin look arsenic soft and master arsenic everyone else's, without lugging astir an outer gimbal. I emotion this characteristic much than immoderate different upgrade successful nan iPhone 17 lineup. And pinch dual capture, it's genuinely nosy to use.

The caller iPhones fto you grounds yourself and what's successful beforehand of you astatine nan aforesaid time, utilizing some nan beforehand and rear cameras. While respective Android phones person offered this before, Apple's unmatched stabilization connected some sides gives nan iPhone a clear separator successful wide quality.

Also: I tested nan iPhone Air for a week, and here's why 17 Pro Max users shouldn't slumber connected it

I haven't changeable capable photos pinch nan rear cameras yet to judge really overmuch of a leap nan caller 4x telephoto really is. But from nan first day, it was evident that I'd emotion to use the beforehand camera.

From Center Stage successful video calls to auto-framing successful photos and ultra-stabilized clips, nan 18MP selfie camera is easy nan prima of nan show connected my iPhone 17 Pro. And I'm gladsome Apple didn't reserve it for nan Pro models -- you get nan aforesaid acquisition connected nan much affordable iPhone 17 and nan ultra-slim iPhone Air.