Tap the overflow camera menu on the top right in video mode and choose Dual Capture. It works up to 4K 30 frames per second, and you’ll see a floating preview of the front camera—like when you’re on a video call—with the main viewfinder displaying the view from the rear camera. The placement of the floating front camera view seems to be important, because it doesn’t look like you can change it post-capture, so you’ll want to make sure you flick it to a spot where it doesn’t block the action.
It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s a fun little capability I think a lot of people will take advantage of now that it’s natively built into the camera app.
8X Zoom
I test phones for a living, but I’m also a photographer, and the camera I use most often is the telephoto zoom. I find the main cameras on most phones these days a little too wide, so optical zoom options let me get closer to the subject.
Color me excited that the new iPhone 17 Pro models can go up to 8X zoom and retain optical-like quality! Apple has upgraded the telephoto camera to 48 megapixels, meaning you’ll be able to see more detail in your shots. It’s also a 4X optical zoom camera. That might sound like a step back, considering Pro iPhones have offered 5X optical zoom for several years. However, the upgrade in megapixel count and the larger sensor should offer better-quality images overall, whether at 4X, 5X, or even up to 8X.
Android phone owners are probably rolling their eyes right now. Yes, Samsung used to have 10X optical zoom on its Ultra phones a few years ago. Sony has offered variable optical zoom for years (sadly, no one really buys its phones). Even today, you can get excellent optical-like image quality at 10X from phones like the Google Pixel 10 and Galaxy S25 Ultra. iPhones have been limited in this way, but that’s starting to change.
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