A new rumor is now that the iPhone 17 (likely the Pro models) may get an exciting feature for improved video recording.
The iPhone 17 series is expected in September, but as usual, if you’ve been following the tech world up close, leaks and rumors are swirling in the wilderness saying all sorts of things. Some seem more strange, like the rumored redesign, while others seem more reasonable, which is the case with today’s leak.
Tipster Fixed Focus Digital is now saying on Weibo that the iPhone 17 may be able to film in 8K resolution. They don’t specify which model, but it’s likely, if true, that Apple will reserve the fancier resolution mode for the Pro-branded iPhones.
The rest of the post focuses on how the iPhone may feel with its “half-aluminum and half-glass” design, which alludes to previous rumors about potentially the iPhone 17 Pro models ditching titanium (although the leaker may be talking just about the base models, nothing is clear at this point).
So far, no iPhone is able to shoot at a greater resolution than 4K. However, this is not the first time the higher-resolution video recording abilities have been suggested for iPhones. Back in September 2024, rumors started indicating that Apple was testing 8K video for the iPhone 16 Pro (well, it either wasn’t true or didn’t make it).
If this rumor turns out to be accurate for the iPhone 17 Pro models, this would also presumably mean spatial video recording capabilities at higher resolution would be unlocked, for the Apple Vision Pro. However, this may depend on how many sensors support 8K video on the iPhone 17, one or two.
Meanwhile, according to rumors we may be in for surprises this September. First off, a new model is rumored to join the series and kick off the Plus – an ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air, which showed up in a CAD-based 3D print to be almost half the thickness of the iPhone 17 Pro. Also, we have the weird redesign showing up over and over in the rumors.
In the meantime, Apple will not be a pioneer of 8K on smartphones if it even decides to include it in the upcoming models. For one, Apple’s main competitor, Samsung, has now equipped the Galaxy S25 Ultra with 8K recording capabilities in three of its cameras. In fact, the Galaxy S Ultra models can shoot 8K since the Galaxy S20, some five years ago.
