iOS 17 Photos and Camera Features: What’s New
Apple introduced several useful upgrades to the Photos and Camera apps in iOS 17, making them smarter, easier to use, and more powerful for everyday photography. From improved Visual Look Up capabilities to pet recognition and better editing tools, the update brings a range of enhancements designed to improve the overall experience.
Pet Recognition
The Photos app can now recognize pets in addition to people. Cats and dogs are automatically identified and organized into their own albums, allowing users to browse photos of their pets more easily.
Because of this addition, the “People” album has been renamed to People & Pets. Apple also says that facial recognition for people has been improved in iOS 17.
Enhanced Visual Look Up
Visual Look Up received some of the biggest improvements in iOS 17. The feature, which provides information about objects and subjects in photos, can now recognize many more items and symbols.
For food images, the iPhone can identify dishes and suggest related recipes from the web. Visual Look Up can also explain symbols such as:
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Street signs
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Vehicle dashboard icons
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Laundry care symbols on clothing tags
Simply take a photo and tap the information button to learn more about what’s shown in the image.
Users can also long-press on a subject in a photo to isolate it from the background and use Visual Look Up to identify it.
In addition, Visual Look Up now works with videos. You can pause a video on any frame and tap the info button to analyze objects or subjects within that frame.
One-Tap Crop Tool
Cropping photos is now much faster in iOS 17. When zooming into an image in the Photos app, a new Crop button appears in the upper-right corner, allowing users to instantly crop the image to the zoomed area without opening the full editing interface.
Updated Photos Editing Interface
Apple refreshed the photo editing layout in iOS 17 for better usability. The Cancel and Done buttons have been moved to the top of the screen, and editing tools now include text labels alongside their icons, making them easier to understand for new users.
Camera Leveling Feature
The Camera app now includes a built-in leveling tool for landscape photography. A horizontal guide line appears on the screen to help users align shots properly before capturing an image, making it easier to take straight and balanced photos.
Improved QR Code Scanning
Apple refined the QR code scanning experience in iOS 17. Previously, QR code links appeared in the middle of the screen, which could sometimes make them difficult to tap.
Now, detected QR code links appear at the bottom of the display for easier access and a cleaner interface.
Cinematic Mode API for Third-Party Apps
Apple introduced a new Cinematic API that allows third-party photo and video apps to support Cinematic mode playback and editing features, expanding advanced video capabilities beyond Apple’s own apps.
Animated Stickers From Photos
With the background removal feature, users can now turn subjects from Live Photos into animated stickers for Messages and other apps.
To create one, simply long-press on a subject in a photo and choose Add Sticker. Apple also includes effects such as:
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White outline
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Puffy sticker effect
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Glitter effect
This feature works with regular photos as well if you want to create a static sticker.
Screenshot Improvements
iOS 17 improves full-page screenshot functionality by allowing users to save full-page captures directly as image files in Photos. In previous versions of iOS, full-page screenshots could only be saved as PDFs.
Learn More
Beyond Photos and Camera enhancements, iOS 17 introduces many additional features and refinements across the iPhone experience, making the update more polished and user-friendly overall.