Apple has removed the ability of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max to take Portrait shots in the Night mode, and that too, without any accompanying explanation or justification.
Night mode Portrait shots - a part of Apple's suite of camera options since the iPhone 12 Pro - have now been rendered extinct for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
Since Apple launched the iPhone 12 Pro back in 2020, it has allowed users to combine the Night mode and the Portrait mode to brighten dark shots, replete with the ability to blur backgrounds.
Yet, this feature has suddenly disappeared for the iPhone 17 Pro and its Pro Max sibling, and that too, without any formal notification from Apple. In fact, people are just finding out about their missing Night mode Portrait shots from discussions on Apple's community forum.
Interestingly, older iPhone models running iOS 26 continue to retain the ability to take Portrait shots in Night mode.
Meanwhile, as stated earlier, Apple has remained mum on the issue. What's more, Apple's support pages continue to tout the ability of the recent iPhones to take Portrait shots while in Night mode, with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max listed as supported devices for this feature.
So, what is causing this confusion? Well, there are only two possibilities in play at the moment:
- Either the disappearance of the ability to take Portrait shots in the Night mode is the result of a temporary bug, one that will be ironed out soon enough.
- Or, Apple has decided to wean its users off this feature, especially given the fact that the resulting shots often suffer from increased noise and motion blur problems.
Right now, if you want to take Portrait shots (those with depth) in darker environments, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max do not activate Night mode, resulting in darker shots, albeit those with a lot of detail.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
