iPhone 11 Multi-Camera Feature Also Coming to iPhone XS and XR

The multi-camera functionality debuted for the iPhone 11 is also coming to the iPad Pro, iPhone XR, and iPhone XS.

When Apple announced the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro at its “By Innovation Only” event last week, it highlighted how third-party apps could receive simultaneous streams from multiple cameras at the same time. As it turns out, Apple is also bringing this feature to the 2018 iPad Pro, iPhone XR, and the iPhone XS.

According to a new report from 9to5Mac, the new camera functionality will allow users to combine feeds from multiple camera sensors into one video, letting you shoot something with the iPhone’s rear-facing camera while also recording your reaction from the front-facing camera.

“The multi-cam API is a feature of iOS 13, which launches publicly on September 19. Apple uses the multi-cam technology in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Camera app, showing image data from the wider scene in the toolbar areas of the viewfinder interface. However, the Camera app does not directly support recording multiple streams. For now, iPhone users will have to rely on the third-party app ecosystem for that functionality.” reads the report.

The feature will reportedly rely on a new API that Apple will debut with iOS 13. The company had talked about this API in one of the WWDC sessions and highlighted how it required a significant rewrite of the imaging pipeline on their devices.



There are certain limitations on older devices though and they won’t be able to use all cameras for recording videos simultaneously as only a certain combination of camera sensors will work. The video quality might also be inferior compared to if one only uses a single camera to record videos.

Once the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro hit the stores and iOS 13 is released to the public, we are probably going to see at least a few popular camera apps on the App Store being updated with multi-cam support for the iPhone XS and iPhone XR.