iPhone 17 camera with iOS 26 update: What’s new and how to click smarter

For serious shots or night photography, turn on ProRAW if your iPhone supports it. It captures more detail, light, and shadows. You’ll get richer edits later. Keep in mind, RAW files are bigger, so use them when the moment deserves extra depth, like portraits or creative frames.

• iOS 26 Camera app gets major visual and usability updates
• New two-tab layout simplifies mode selection and access to advanced controls
• AirPods can now trigger the camera shutter for hands-free photos and videos

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The Camera app is one of the most frequently used apps on the iPhone, and in iOS 26, Apple has given it one of its most noticeable updates in years. Rather than piling on flashy new shooting modes, the company has focused on clarity, reducing visual noise, and making advanced controls easier to access when you need them and invisible when you do not.

The most obvious change is the new Liquid Glass visual style that now runs across the entire interface. Buttons appear more rounded and layered, with a subtle depth effect that makes them feel like they are floating above the live camera view. The area around the shutter and control buttons is more transparent than before, allowing you to see more of the scene outside your frame. Apple has also removed the background bar behind the focal length toggles, which gives the interface a lighter, cleaner look.

A simpler two-tab camera layout

One of the most practical changes in iOS 26 is the new two-tab layout at the bottom of the Camera app. Instead of showing every shooting mode at once, Apple now presents just two primary options: Photo and Video. At first glance, this looks like a major simplification, but the familiar swipe gestures are still there. You can swipe horizontally to reach Portrait, Panorama, Slo-Mo, Cinematic, and other modes just as before.

For iPhones with multiple rear cameras, the focal length buttons remain in their usual position. The shortcut to view your most recent photo and the button to switch to the front camera have not moved either. What has changed is their appearance. The photo preview button is now round rather than square, matching the Liquid Glass style, and the controls have been shifted slightly lower on the display.

The shutter button itself has also been refined. The bright white ring is gone, replaced by a softer Liquid Glass outline that blends better with the rest of the interface. Despite these visual tweaks, the bezel sizes at the top and bottom remain unchanged, so framing still feels familiar.

Pop-out menus for advanced controls

Another major shift in iOS 26 is how camera settings are accessed. Many options that used to sit at the top of the screen now live inside pop-out menus. When you are in Photo mode, tapping the Photo button opens a menu with large, easy-to-tap icons for Flash, Live Photo, Timer, Exposure, Styles, Aspect ratio, and Night Mode.

Each option expands into its own control when selected. For example, tapping Exposure brings up a slider that lets you fine-tune brightness before taking a shot. Video mode follows the same logic, with quick access to Flash, Exposure, and Action mode. Other shooting modes also surface their most relevant settings through this same menu system.

You can also open these menus by tapping the menu icon in the top-right corner of the screen. Importantly, Apple has not hidden everything away. Frequently used toggles such as RAW, Styles, Flash, and Night Mode can still appear at the top of the interface, while context-specific controls like the Macro toggle continue to pop up automatically when needed. In Settings, there are new options to show indicators for Flash, Live Photo, and Action Mode directly inside the Camera app.

AirPods as a remote camera shutter

iOS 26 adds a surprisingly useful feature for hands-free photography. If you are using AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4, you can trigger the camera shutter by pressing and holding the stem on your AirPods. Once connected, opening the Camera app and pressing the stem takes a photo. Holding it down starts video recording, and pressing again stops the clip.

This feature works with the built-in Camera app as well as third-party photography apps, as long as your AirPods are running the firmware that ships alongside iOS 26. It is a small addition, but it makes group photos, tripod shots, and solo videos much easier to manage.

Smarter alerts and developer tools

Apple has also added a new cleaning warning that detects when your camera lens is dirty and prompts you to wipe it. It is a simple idea, but one that can prevent soft or hazy photos before they happen.

For developers, iOS 26 introduces a new Cinematic mode API that allows third-party apps to capture video with shallow depth of field and automatic focus transitions. Apple is also opening up its Audio Mix tools through a new API, letting developers offer the same sound controls found in the Camera app. These include In-Frame for reducing off-screen noise, Studio for cutting background sound and reverb, and Cinematic for placing voices front and centre while keeping ambient audio spatial.

Mac magnifier via Continuity Camera

Accessibility also gets a meaningful boost. With macOS 26 and iOS 26, your Mac can use the iPhone Camera app as a live magnifying glass through Continuity Camera. The iPhone’s zoomed video feed appears directly on the Mac display, allowing users to view distant objects clearly while working on their computer. Apple demonstrated this with a student using an iPhone to zoom in on a classroom board while taking notes on her Mac.

Taken together, the iOS 26 Camera update is less about dramatic new tricks and more about refinement. The app feels calmer, more focused, and better suited to quick shooting, while still offering depth when you want control.