According to MacRumors, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max owners have lost the ability to take Night mode photos while in Portrait mode, a feature that’s been standard on Apple’s Pro iPhones since the iPhone 12 Pro launched back in 2020. The omission was confirmed by Apple’s own iOS 26 iPhone User Guide, which lists compatible models and excludes the latest ones. Users on Reddit and Apple’s discussion forums started noticing the missing feature a couple of months ago, and a DXOMARK Camera test in September also subtly referenced the limitation. Despite this, Apple has provided no official explanation for the removal or indicated if it will be restored in a future software update. For photographers who used this combo on older Pro models, it feels like a straightforward downgrade.
How the feature works and why it matters
Here’s the thing: Night mode and Portrait mode are both computationally intensive. Night mode works by taking a series of long-exposure shots and stacking them to pull light and detail from darkness, while Portrait mode uses depth data (from LiDAR or dual cameras) to create that blurred background effect. Combining them is a serious processing lift. The phone has to manage the long exposures while also calculating depth maps in near-darkness. It’s not easy, but Apple’s chips have been handling it since 2020. So why stop now?
Possible reasons for the removal
There are a few theories floating around. Maybe Apple’s new camera sensor or lens array in the iPhone 17 Pro creates a technical hurdle for generating accurate depth maps in ultra-low light. Or, perhaps it’s a software bug that’s proving stubborn to fix, and they just disabled the toggle for now. The cynical take? It could be an artificial limitation to differentiate future models or push people toward using the standard Photo mode with its Night mode. But that seems like a weird hill to die on for a premium “Pro” device. You’d think more power would mean more features, not fewer.
What happens next
Now, the big question is whether this is permanent. Apple’s guide, spotted by Macworld, makes it seem intentional. But the company is famously quiet about these things until a fix is ready. The chatter on Reddit and Apple’s forums shows a dedicated user base that notices these details, so pressure is building. I’d bet we see it return in an iOS 26.x update, framed as an “enhancement.” If not, it’s a genuinely confusing step backward for what’s supposed to be their most advanced camera system.
