Apple removed this iPhone 17 Pro camera feature, and we have no clue why
In a bizarre move, Apple removed a popular feature from its latest iPhones
š Apple has removed a popular camera feature from the iPhone 17 Pro
šø You can no longer use night mode while taking portraits
š± The feature remains available on older iPhones, however
š¤· Itās unclear why Apple removed the feature - and whether itāll ever come back
Apple introduced a lot of new camera features on the iPhone 17 Pro, but I donāt think anyone thought Apple would take any away in exchange. Itās recently been discovered that a feature previously available on the iPhone has disappeared without warning: the ability to use Night mode while taking portrait photos.
Users on Reddit were the first to discover that the feature suddenly vanished from their iPhone 17 Pros and Pro Maxes. On my personal iPhone 17 Pro Max, I donāt see the feature either (Iām running the release candidate of iOS 26.2, although that doesnāt seem to matter given that other users are running older versions of iOS 26). The disappearance was then confirmed by Apple to be a real thing in a support document on its website; it used to mention that the 17 Pro series supported Night mode while taking portraits, but now, it only lists phones ranging from the iPhone 16 Pro to the iPhone 12 Pro.
Night mode in portrait was available at one point on the iPhone 17 Pro, and itās unclear why itās been removed. Appleās updated support document confirms that the disappearance isnāt a bug in iOS, either, so weāll need to wait and see if the feature ever pops back up in future iOS 26 releases.
Thus far, no publication has heard from Apple regarding the removal of the feature, but weāll update this article if the company releases a statement.
For those curious, you can still use Night mode in other camera modes on the iPhone 17 Pro, as well as in video. You also can take portrait mode photos at nighttime if you want, but the quality will be worse since you canāt enable Night mode to pull out more detail in dark areas of the picture. Hopefully, the feature makes its way back to Appleās latest flagships in the near future.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. Heās been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.