I review camera phones for a living – here are 3 rumored iPhone 17 Pro camera upgrades I hope turn out to be true

More megapixels and greater zoom inbound?

· TechRadar

Features By Alex Walker-Todd published 8 September 2025

iPhone 17 Pro mockup (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

We're now just hours away from Apple's 'Awe Dropping' event, and while we already have a seemingly clear picture of the new iPhones the company has up its sleeve, exactly what their capabilities are going to be remains more of a mystery.

While upgrades like a jump to Apple's A19 and A19 Pro silicon are all but certain, there's talk of more outlandish enhancements coming to the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, including new vapor-chamber cooling, more RAM on the Air and Pro models, and even a new orange colorway.

What I'm most intrigued by, though, are the camera upgrades. After comparing the cameras from the best iPhone, Samsung, and Pixel earlier this year, and using the iPhone 16 Pro as my main means of video capture since launch, I have some thoughts and hopes for the iPhone 17 Pro line's expected camera upgrades.

Based on some of the most recent rumors surrounding this next generation of iPhone imaging, here are the three improvements I have my fingers crossed most tightly for.

1. Superior selfie snappers

  • The rumor: Entire iPhone 17 line expected to receive front-camera upgrade to 24MP
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Although I've given up hope of further development of the Dynamic Island, one arguably more meaningful upgrade that I'd welcome is an enhanced selfie snapper.

As reported back in August, a note to investors seen by 9to5Mac suggests that all four new iPhone 17 models will benefit from a resolution bump to their front-facing cameras; doubling from 12MP to 24MP.

When comparing the 16 Pro's front-facer, I discovered that it had a tendency to under-expose and applied an overtly aggressive contrast curve to scenes (suggesting limited dynamic range), when compared to the selfie cameras on the Pixel 9 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

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