Selfie with iJustine and Tim Cook at the 2025 Apple Event. Jason Hiner/ZDNET
Apple revealed that iPhone users had taken over 500 billion selfies in the past year. With approximately 1.5 billion iPhone users globally, this averages to about 330 selfies per person annually.
In a selfie taken on the iPhone 17, the detail in the face, hat, and wall texture is evident, along with the dynamic range in the clouds.
Apple has reimagined the front-facing camera for the iPhone this year, providing a significant upgrade in image quality.
For frequent selfie-takers, the upgrade is notable as the front-facing camera has historically been the weakest link among iPhone cameras.
Apple enhanced all four models in the iPhone 17 lineup by upgrading the selfie camera from a 12MP rectangular sensor to a 24MP square sensor, capable of capturing 18MP images in both orientations.
A new feature, the Center Stage button, allows users to switch between vertical and horizontal modes without flipping the camera.
Users can enable Auto Zoom and Auto Rotate in the Center Stage settings, allowing the iPhone to use AI to identify faces and adjust framing automatically.
The interface for the front-facing camera now includes options to switch orientations and set AI features for group selfies.
Apple’s “Center Stage” branding for the new selfie camera is more advanced than the feature on Mac and iPad, which only keeps users centered during video calls.
The new selfie camera in the iPhone 17 lineup is considered the most advanced selfie camera available.
Apple’s upgrade moves it ahead of competitors that have used 24MP selfie cameras since 2018.
The horizontal version of the selfie maintains the same quality benefits of the new 18MP sensor.
Testing of the new selfie cameras on various iPhone 17 models confirms they perform as advertised, making the front sensor suitable for high-quality photos.
