This year’s batch of iPhones had one big upgrade in common. All four, from the regular iPhone 17 to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, swapped out the tired old 12MP TrueDepth front-facing camera for a new 18MP Center Stage lens.

The Center Stage feature was originally introduced back with the 2021 iPad Pro, and allowed the camera to track moving subjects while on video calls — especially helpful for that period, when Zoom and FaceTime became almost essential thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the iPhone 17 family, the Center Stage camera can also shift orientation from portrait to landscape, and the lens has been widened from 23mm to 20mm (lower being wider with lenses). It all works extremely well.

It was a pleasant surprise that Apple didn’t limit this upgrade to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max

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