Photos and Imaging

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Integrate still images and other forms of photography into your apps.

Posts under Photos and Imaging tag

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[iOS 27 DB3] Photos taken with third party apps have photographic styles applied
It's unclear if this is a bug or a new feature but I have noticed that my photos starting coming out looking more stylised than expected and worked out that it was because photographic styles were being applied even tho I was taking photos through a third party app. Is there a way to disable this behaviour if it is intended? I've raised a feedback report #FB23632714 Photographic Styles [OFF] Photographic Styles [ON] My settings:
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Request photo library authorization popup on macOS Catalyst can't be dismissed
I have an iOS app that I want to publish to the Mac App Store as a Catalyst app, but I noticed a situation where the app can't be closed and has to be force quit. The problem happens if the user has 0 photos in their Photo Library, and hits "Limited Access" on the request authorization prompt (In my case PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization(for: .readWrite). Since the popup is a system prompt, I can't manually add a close button to it. I tried wrapping it in a view with a close button but the popup always shows up over any view I'm presenting within my app. If anyone has a workaround that would be greatly appreciated!
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Is autoDeferredPhotoDelivery required for 24MP capture?
I've been trying to implement the newly touted high resolution capture at 24MP from WWDC26: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2026/304/ However it seems it's only possible to capture 24mp photos if you enable autoDeferredPhotoDelivery? This is quite frustrating as my app wants to run the image output through shaders and effects before saving. Is there a way round this limiation?
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4d
Best practice for rapid sequential Live Photo captures with AVCapturePhotoOutput?
Hi everyone, I’m working on a camera app as a learning project and have reached a point where I’m trying to better understand the intended architecture for Live Photo capture using AVCapturePhotoOutput. The app currently supports: Live Photos Depth data Location metadata Multiple lens presets on a virtual multi-camera device Everything is working well, but I’m now thinking about capture throughput and rapid shutter presses. Right now, my implementation is fairly conservative. I wait for a Live Photo capture to finish processing and importing before allowing another capture. This is reliable, but it doesn’t feel particularly camera-like when compared to Apple’s Camera app. One observation from field testing caught my attention: I took a Live Photo, immediately switched lenses, then took another Live Photo. When I viewed the first Live Photo later, the movie portion included the lens-switching actions that occurred after I pressed the shutter. That made me realize that I may be thinking about the capture lifecycle incorrectly. My questions are: When using AVCapturePhotoOutput with Live Photos enabled, what is the earliest point at which a capture can be considered “safely secured”? Is it expected that apps wait for PhotoKit import to complete before accepting another Live Photo capture request? If supporting rapid sequential shutter presses, is the recommended approach to queue capture requests and process them one at a time? Are there any best practices around lens changes or camera reconfiguration while a Live Photo is still being captured or processed? I’m not looking for details about the implementation of Apple’s Camera app. I’m mainly trying to understand the recommended approach when working with the public AVFoundation APIs. I’d appreciate any guidance, documentation references, or examples from developers who have worked through similar problems. Thanks!
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Is it possible to customize the iOS permission dialog for Photo Library access?
version: iOS 17+ When requesting Photo Library access on iOS, the system displays a standard permission dialog. I just wanna save a image to user's photo library. Is it possible to replace or customize this system permission popup with a fully custom-designed UI? If customization is not allowed, is the recommended approach to first present a custom explanatory popup or screen and then trigger the system permission dialog?
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222
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PhotogrammetrySession(input: [PhotogrammetrySample]) Hangs or terminates
Providing a response and feedback to this: https://origin-devforums.apple.com/forums/thread/827311 and https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/827043?page=1#889020022 I have a created a feedback/bug report with ID FB22823733 Feedback Report: I have created a feedback report as well like recommended with this ID: FB22823733, with more elaborate images of my implementation, also see here More clarity: Yes, this is for an iOS app(iOS 18+) but testing and debugging on Xcode(MacOS 15.7.7, M4 24GB), which traps or hangs on getting to [PhotogrammetrySample] even while using the lazy sequence and the contentsOf as specified in your docs. I also tried using the PhotogrammetrySession folder run but its still failed with : CoreOC.PhotogrammetrySession.Error 6 and I understand to mean alignment failed. What can be done or do you guys expose any functions that can be used to aid, or handle these internally, can't find any internally. The ObjectMasks are actually segmentation masks from an ML algorithm . To replicate try calling PhotogrammetrySession(input: [PhotogrammetrySample]) with contentsOf as captured on your documentation, even with like 30 image set or is there something I'm missing.
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Is it possible to customize the iOS permission dialog for Photo Library access?
vesion: iOS 17+ When requesting Photo Library access on iOS, the system displays a standard permission dialog. And I just wanna save a image to user's photo library. Is it possible to replace or customize this system permission popup with a fully custom-designed UI? If customization is not allowed, is the recommended approach to first present a custom explanatory popup or screen and then trigger the system permission dialog?
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267
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How to reliably debug PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension during development?
I'm developing a PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension and finding it difficult to debug because the system controls when the extension launches. Current experience: The extension starts at unpredictable times (anywhere from 1 minute to several hours after photos are added) By the time I attach the debugger, the upload may have already completed or failed Breakpoints in init() or early lifecycle methods are often missed Questions: Is there a way to force-launch the extension during development (similar to how we can manually trigger Background App Refresh in Xcode)? Are there any launch arguments or environment variables that put the extension in a debug/eager mode? I tried taking photos/videos, but this doesn't trigged app extension in all cases. Any tips for improving the debug cycle would be greatly appreciated. Environment: iOS 26, Xcode 18
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871
Jun ’26
Lack of AVCameraCalibrationData parity in RAW Photo workflows
I am requesting technical clarification and a formal feature addition regarding the availability of per-frame calibration data for Standard RAW captures on iPhone 17 and 17 Pro. The Technical Gap: Currently, AVCaptureVideoDataOutput provides a direct path to the AVCameraCalibrationData object, allowing real-time access to the Intrinsic Matrix, Radial/Tangential Distortion coefficients, and Lens Shading Maps. However, this same level of geometric transparency is missing from the AVCapturePhoto RAW/ProRAW delegate. While standard RAW files contain some metadata, they lack the physics sidecar required for precision manual alignment. Because the lens assembly in the iPhone 17 Pro is dynamic shifted constantly by Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and high-speed Voice Coil Motors (VCM) for focus a static or factor calibration is mathematically insufficient for high-precision workflows. The Problem: Without the 1:1 hardware state at the millisecond of exposure, we cannot perform accurate geometric reconstruction from RAW stills. We are forced to choose between the high dynamic range of a RAW sensor dump and the geometric precision of the video pipeline. Final Questions: Is there a documented, supported method to force the inclusion of the AVCameraCalibrationData object or a raw metadata sidecar in the AVCapturePhoto workflow? If not, can Apple provide parity between the Video and Photo APIs so that the "rawest" data (RAW) is accompanied by the "rawest" physics (Calibration Data)? Providing the pixels without the lens geometry limits the utility of the RAW format for any technical workflow requiring sub-pixel geometric integrity.
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809
Jun ’26
Radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and Bayer RAW access via AVFoundation
I am working on a computational photography research project involving multi-exposure HDR reconstruction using Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW captures. I would like to clarify the radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and the availability of Bayer RAW capture through AVFoundation. My questions are: On current iPhone Pro devices, is it possible for third-party apps to capture and export true Bayer-pattern RAW DNG files through AVFoundation, rather than Apple ProRAW linear DNG files? If so, which availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes correspond to Bayer RAW, and what device or format restrictions apply? Apple ProRAW appears to be demosaiced and computationally processed, and may include multi-frame fusion. Is the decoded ProRAW image intended to be radiometrically linear and scene-referred? For a bracketed ProRAW sequence captured with fixed ISO, white balance, lens, and focus, but different exposure times, can one assume that the decoded linear pixel values Y_i(p) satisfy an exposure-proportional model in non-saturated regions, such as Y_i(p) ≈ t_i R(p), across brackets? This question is about radiometric consistency for algorithmic use, not about visual editing or tone mapping. Thank you for your help.
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508
May ’26
Markup Tool: Support for persistent tool presets (color, stroke, fill settings)
Markup Tool: Support for persistent tool presets (color, stroke, fill settings) I use Markup heavily for work — up to 20 images per day, always with the same settings: red arrow or rectangle, no fill, specific stroke width. The problem has two parts: Part 1 – Markup resets everything: Every time Markup is opened, all settings reset: tool, color, fill, stroke width. This means 3–4 manual steps per image, adding up to 80 unnecessary interactions per day. Part 2 – The default red is unusable: The red in Apple’s color palette is muted and too pale for clear, high-contrast annotations. I have to open the color wheel every single time to manually select a proper, vivid red. The copy/duplicate workaround only helps within one image — as soon as a new photo or screenshot is opened, everything starts over from scratch. Markup has no memory between different images. Switching to a third-party annotation app is not a solution — the entire advantage of Markup is its native integration directly within the Photos app, without switching apps. And Markup cannot be configured in depth through Shortcuts either — color, fill, and stroke width are not controllable there. The attached images: Image 1 shows the entry point in the Photos app. Image 2 shows Markup open with the current color palette. The blue-outlined fields do not indicate colors to be replaced — they mark the position where personally configured tool presets should appear: not individual colors, but fully pre-configured tools with color, stroke width, and fill setting already saved, ready to use with a single tap. My suggestion: Tool presets — configure once, saved permanently, available directly in the Markup toolbar. No need to re-configure color, fill, or stroke width for every new image. iOS already remembers last-used settings in many areas: camera mode, emojis, colors in Notes, Pages, and Keynote. Markup behaves as if it’s being opened for the first time, every time. This inconsistency costs me measurable time every single day.
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May ’26
Radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and Bayer RAW access via AVFoundation
I am working on a computational photography research project involving multi-exposure HDR reconstruction using Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW captures. I would like to clarify the radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and the availability of Bayer RAW capture through AVFoundation. My questions are: 1.On current iPhone Pro devices, is it possible for third-party apps to capture and export true Bayer-pattern RAW DNG files through AVFoundation, rather than Apple ProRAW linear DNG files? If so, which availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes correspond to Bayer RAW, and what device or format restrictions apply? 2.Apple ProRAW appears to be demosaiced and computationally processed, and may include multi-frame fusion. Is the decoded ProRAW image intended to be radiometrically linear and scene-referred? 3.For a bracketed ProRAW sequence captured with fixed ISO, white balance, lens, and focus, but different exposure times, can one assume that the decoded linear pixel values Y_i(p) satisfy an exposure-proportional model in non-saturated regions, such as Y_i(p) ≈ t_i R(p), across brackets? This question is about radiometric consistency for algorithmic use, not about visual editing or tone mapping. Thank you for your help.
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522
May ’26
Detect SD Card
Both Photos and Lightroom are able to detect when a card reader has been plugged into an iPhone or iPad and a card exists with the correct DCIM format (from a digital camera). I have been unable to find the API that allows an application to do this (except using the standard file import function and making the user navigate to the card). ChatGPT tells me that Photos and Lightroom use a private API that is not made available to normal developers. Does anyone know if this is true - or if not then how to detect that a card is present using Swift?
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May ’26
Trying to load image & identifier from photo library with PhotosPicker
I'm updating an older Mac app written in Objective C and OpenGL to be a mutliplatform app in SwiftUI and Metal. The app loads images and creates kaleidoscope animations from them. It is a document-based application, and saves info about the kaleidoscope into the document. On macOS, it creates a security-scoped bookmark to remember the user's chosen image. On iOS, I use a PhotosPicker to have the user choose an image from their photo library to use. I would like to get the itemIdentifier from the image they choose and save that into my document so I can use it to fetch the image when the user reloads the kaleidoscope document in the future. However, the call to loadTransferable is returning nil for the itemIdentifier. Here is my iOS/iPadOS code: #if os(macOS) // Mac code #else PhotosPicker("Choose image", selection: $selectedItem, matching: .images) .onChange(of: selectedItem) { Task { if let newValue = selectedItem { scopeState.isHEIC = newValue.supportedContentTypes.contains(UTType.heic) let data = try? await newValue.loadTransferable(type: Data.self) print("newValue = \(newValue)") print("newValue.supportedContentTypes = \(newValue.supportedContentTypes)") scopeState.selectedImageID = newValue.itemIdentifier scopeState.selectedImageData = data } } } #endif The debug print statements show: newValue = PhotosPickerItem(_itemIdentifier: "9386762B-C241-4EE2-9942-BC04017E35C1/L0/001", _shouldExposeItemIdentifier: false, _supportedContentTypes: [<_UTCoreType 0x20098cd40> public.png (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec060> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.standard (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec150> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.low (not dynamic, declared)], _content: _PhotosUI_SwiftUI.PhotosPickerItem.(unknown context at $1e75ee3bc).Content.result(PhotosUI.PHPickerResult(itemProvider: <PUPhotosFileProviderItemProvider: 0x11d2bd680> {types = ( "public.png", "com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.standard", "com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.low" )}, _objcResult: <PHPickerResult: 0x11b18cff0>))) newValue.supportedContentTypes = [<_UTCoreType 0x20098cd40> public.png (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec060> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.standard (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec150> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.low (not dynamic, declared)] And the returned item has a nil itemIdentifier. (note the _shouldExposeItemIdentifier=false in the log of the selected item). How do I get the itemIdentifier for the user's chosen image? And is that valid to then fetch the asset when the user reloads their document? Is it like a security-scoped bookmark on macOS, where the itemIdentifier is like a key that gives me permission to reload the image? If not, what do I need to do in order to reload the image the next time the user opens a saved kaleidoscope document?
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Apr ’26
Working Anti Virus for iOS
https://youtube.com/shorts/mVjjWDagSI0 I created this working anti virus app for iOS. It scans images such as this one from your camera roll to find any that may have contained or may still contain malicious code. https://github.com/hunters-sec/CVE-2025-43300 Apple terminated our developer account as a joke app. We have had several co-orindated attacks on our developer and businesses accounts around Jewish holidays and Shabbat. So it's not surprising it's like Apple uses automated app review or something. if isAntivirus() { terminateDeveloperAccount() } They said we were dishonest when in reality they were the ones that outright lied or refused to read our app review notes.
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Apr ’26
XCUITesting Photo Library on macOS
Using XCUITesting to access images using photos picker. The code is roughly like this: photoPickerButton.click() try await Task.sleep(for: .seconds(2)) let images = app.descendants(matching: .image) .matching(identifier: "PXGGridLayout-Info") // select the first 5 images for ix in 0..<5 { let image = images.element(boundBy: ix) if image.exists { image.click() } } // why do I have to click this twice? Output says the second // click does "Falling back to element center point". app.buttons["Add"].firstMatch.click() app.buttons["Add"].firstMatch.click() Other than the minor annoyance of having to click the Add button twice that works fine. The issue is the second time in the same test I run almost identical code, but only try to select the first image as a test for handling duplicate selections. Doesn't work. The first image returned from the query exists, but is not hittable. This is a testing issue as running the steps manually work fine. The element I want to click is this: Attributes: Image, 0x73511d540, {{1794.0, 745.2}, {98.0, 73.5}}, identifier: 'PXGGridLayout-Info', label: 'February 02, 1:00 PM' Any ideas?
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Mar ’26
macOS 26.4 regression with Mac Catalyst apps using PhotoKit: Photos do not appear when using limited access - Failed to get sandbox extension for url - Image request failed with error PHPhotosErrorDomain Code 3303
I just submitted FB22318443. In Mac Catalyst apps running on macOS 26.4, if you choose to limit the app's access to specific photos (as opposed to granting full access), the photos do not appear in the app. 💀 This issue does not occur on iPadOS. It is a macOS 26.4 regression. It occurs even with apps built using a previous version of the SDK such as 26.2. A sample of the console logs: [RM]: 4-1-1 failed to decode for asset: 9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D, error code: 3303, description: Error Domain=PHPhotosErrorDomain Code=3303 "(null)" Failed to get sandbox extension for url: file:///Users/Jordan/Pictures/Photos%20Library.photoslibrary/resources/derivatives/masters/9/9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D_4_5005_c.jpeg, error: Error Domain=com.apple.photos.error Code=44001 "sandbox extension not in the cache after requesting them for path: /Users/Jordan/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/derivatives/masters/9/9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D_4_5005_c.jpeg" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=sandbox extension not in the cache after requesting them for path: /Users/Jordan/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/derivatives/masters/9/9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D_4_5005_c.jpeg} [RM]: 1-1-1 Image request failed with error: Error Domain=PHPhotosErrorDomain Code=3303 "(null)"
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Mar ’26
Repeated NUIdentifier crash
Some of our app's users are repeatedly running into a crash on NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithNamespace:name:version:] + 2352. It looks from the stack trace like multiple threads are performing PHFetchRequests, but that shouldn't be causing a crash. It's isolated to a small number of users, which makes me think that it's something related to their specific Photos databases (e.g., data corruption.) Do you have any suggestions how I might be able to resolve this? 2 libsystem_c.dylib abort + 124 3 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionPolicyCrashReport notifyAssertion:] + 66 4 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionPolicyComposite notifyAssertion:] + 160 5 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionPolicyUnique notifyAssertion:] + 176 6 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionHandler handleFailureInFunction:file:lineNumber:currentlyExecutingJobName:description:arguments:] + 156 7 NeutrinoCore _NUAssertFailHandler + 176 8 NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithNamespace:name:version:] + 2352 9 NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithName:version:] + 84 10 NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithName:] + 68 11 PhotoImaging +[PISchema identifier] + 36 12 PhotoImaging +[PISchema registeredPhotosSchemaIdentifier] + 32 13 PhotoImaging +[PIPhotoEditHelper newComposition] + 28 14 PhotoImaging +[PICompositionSerializer deserializeCompositionFromAdjustments:metadata:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:sidecarData:error:] + 160 15 PhotoImaging +[PICompositionSerializer deserializeCompositionFromData:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:sidecarData:error:] + 224 16 PhotoLibraryServices -[PLPhotoEditPersistenceManager loadCompositionFrom:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:sidecarData:error:] + 1848 17 PhotoLibraryServices +[PLPhotoEditPersistenceManager validateAdjustmentData:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:error:] + 108 18 Photos __167+[PHContentEditingInputRequestContext contentEditingInputRequestContextForAsset:requestID:managerID:networkAccessAllowed:downloadIntent:progressHandler:resultHandler:]_block_invoke + 260 19 Photos -[PHAdjustmentData(ContentEditingInput) _contentEditing_readableByClientWithVerificationBlock:] + 136 20 Photos -[PHAdjustmentData(ContentEditingInput) _contentEditing_requiredBaseVersionReadableByClient:verificationBlock:] + 88 21 Photos -[PHContentEditingInputRequestContext _adjustmentBaseVersionFromResult:request:canHandleAdjustmentData:] + 356 22 Photos -[PHContentEditingInputRequestContext produceChildRequestsForRequest:reportingIsLocallyAvailable:isDegraded:result:] + 624 23 Photos -[PHMediaRequestContext _produceChildRequestsForRequest:withResult:] + 88 24 Photos -[PHMediaRequestContext mediaRequest:didFinishWithResult:] + 92 25 Photos -[PHAdjustmentDataRequest _finishFromAsynchronousCallback] + 124 26 Photos __39-[PHAdjustmentDataRequest startRequest]_block_invoke + 584 27 PhotoLibraryServicesCore __106-[PLAssetsdResourceClient adjustmentDataForAsset:networkAccessAllowed:trackCPLDownload:completionHandler:]block_invoke.84 + 880 28 CoreFoundation invoking + 148 29 CoreFoundation -[NSInvocation invoke] + 424 30 Foundation <deduplicated_symbol> + 16 31 Foundation -[NSXPCConnection _decodeAndInvokeReplyBlockWithEvent:sequence:replyInfo:] + 528 32 Foundation __88-[NSXPCConnection _sendInvocation:orArguments:count:methodSignature:selector:withProxy:]_block_invoke_5 + 188 33 libxpc.dylib _xpc_connection_reply_callout + 124 42 libsystem_pthread.dylib start_wqthread + 8
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Feb ’26
[iOS 27 DB3] Photos taken with third party apps have photographic styles applied
It's unclear if this is a bug or a new feature but I have noticed that my photos starting coming out looking more stylised than expected and worked out that it was because photographic styles were being applied even tho I was taking photos through a third party app. Is there a way to disable this behaviour if it is intended? I've raised a feedback report #FB23632714 Photographic Styles [OFF] Photographic Styles [ON] My settings:
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0
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59
Activity
3d
Request photo library authorization popup on macOS Catalyst can't be dismissed
I have an iOS app that I want to publish to the Mac App Store as a Catalyst app, but I noticed a situation where the app can't be closed and has to be force quit. The problem happens if the user has 0 photos in their Photo Library, and hits "Limited Access" on the request authorization prompt (In my case PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization(for: .readWrite). Since the popup is a system prompt, I can't manually add a close button to it. I tried wrapping it in a view with a close button but the popup always shows up over any view I'm presenting within my app. If anyone has a workaround that would be greatly appreciated!
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2
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0
Views
66
Activity
4d
Is autoDeferredPhotoDelivery required for 24MP capture?
I've been trying to implement the newly touted high resolution capture at 24MP from WWDC26: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2026/304/ However it seems it's only possible to capture 24mp photos if you enable autoDeferredPhotoDelivery? This is quite frustrating as my app wants to run the image output through shaders and effects before saving. Is there a way round this limiation?
Replies
0
Boosts
0
Views
89
Activity
4d
Best practice for rapid sequential Live Photo captures with AVCapturePhotoOutput?
Hi everyone, I’m working on a camera app as a learning project and have reached a point where I’m trying to better understand the intended architecture for Live Photo capture using AVCapturePhotoOutput. The app currently supports: Live Photos Depth data Location metadata Multiple lens presets on a virtual multi-camera device Everything is working well, but I’m now thinking about capture throughput and rapid shutter presses. Right now, my implementation is fairly conservative. I wait for a Live Photo capture to finish processing and importing before allowing another capture. This is reliable, but it doesn’t feel particularly camera-like when compared to Apple’s Camera app. One observation from field testing caught my attention: I took a Live Photo, immediately switched lenses, then took another Live Photo. When I viewed the first Live Photo later, the movie portion included the lens-switching actions that occurred after I pressed the shutter. That made me realize that I may be thinking about the capture lifecycle incorrectly. My questions are: When using AVCapturePhotoOutput with Live Photos enabled, what is the earliest point at which a capture can be considered “safely secured”? Is it expected that apps wait for PhotoKit import to complete before accepting another Live Photo capture request? If supporting rapid sequential shutter presses, is the recommended approach to queue capture requests and process them one at a time? Are there any best practices around lens changes or camera reconfiguration while a Live Photo is still being captured or processed? I’m not looking for details about the implementation of Apple’s Camera app. I’m mainly trying to understand the recommended approach when working with the public AVFoundation APIs. I’d appreciate any guidance, documentation references, or examples from developers who have worked through similar problems. Thanks!
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1
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0
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312
Activity
2w
Is it possible to customize the iOS permission dialog for Photo Library access?
version: iOS 17+ When requesting Photo Library access on iOS, the system displays a standard permission dialog. I just wanna save a image to user's photo library. Is it possible to replace or customize this system permission popup with a fully custom-designed UI? If customization is not allowed, is the recommended approach to first present a custom explanatory popup or screen and then trigger the system permission dialog?
Replies
1
Boosts
0
Views
222
Activity
3w
PhotogrammetrySession(input: [PhotogrammetrySample]) Hangs or terminates
Providing a response and feedback to this: https://origin-devforums.apple.com/forums/thread/827311 and https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/827043?page=1#889020022 I have a created a feedback/bug report with ID FB22823733 Feedback Report: I have created a feedback report as well like recommended with this ID: FB22823733, with more elaborate images of my implementation, also see here More clarity: Yes, this is for an iOS app(iOS 18+) but testing and debugging on Xcode(MacOS 15.7.7, M4 24GB), which traps or hangs on getting to [PhotogrammetrySample] even while using the lazy sequence and the contentsOf as specified in your docs. I also tried using the PhotogrammetrySession folder run but its still failed with : CoreOC.PhotogrammetrySession.Error 6 and I understand to mean alignment failed. What can be done or do you guys expose any functions that can be used to aid, or handle these internally, can't find any internally. The ObjectMasks are actually segmentation masks from an ML algorithm . To replicate try calling PhotogrammetrySession(input: [PhotogrammetrySample]) with contentsOf as captured on your documentation, even with like 30 image set or is there something I'm missing.
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5
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0
Views
586
Activity
3w
Is it possible to customize the iOS permission dialog for Photo Library access?
vesion: iOS 17+ When requesting Photo Library access on iOS, the system displays a standard permission dialog. And I just wanna save a image to user's photo library. Is it possible to replace or customize this system permission popup with a fully custom-designed UI? If customization is not allowed, is the recommended approach to first present a custom explanatory popup or screen and then trigger the system permission dialog?
Replies
1
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0
Views
267
Activity
3w
Technology
I want to know more about the latest technology from Apple and interesting hardware for me to know about.
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0
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0
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254
Activity
4w
How to reliably debug PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension during development?
I'm developing a PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension and finding it difficult to debug because the system controls when the extension launches. Current experience: The extension starts at unpredictable times (anywhere from 1 minute to several hours after photos are added) By the time I attach the debugger, the upload may have already completed or failed Breakpoints in init() or early lifecycle methods are often missed Questions: Is there a way to force-launch the extension during development (similar to how we can manually trigger Background App Refresh in Xcode)? Are there any launch arguments or environment variables that put the extension in a debug/eager mode? I tried taking photos/videos, but this doesn't trigged app extension in all cases. Any tips for improving the debug cycle would be greatly appreciated. Environment: iOS 26, Xcode 18
Replies
2
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1
Views
871
Activity
Jun ’26
Lack of AVCameraCalibrationData parity in RAW Photo workflows
I am requesting technical clarification and a formal feature addition regarding the availability of per-frame calibration data for Standard RAW captures on iPhone 17 and 17 Pro. The Technical Gap: Currently, AVCaptureVideoDataOutput provides a direct path to the AVCameraCalibrationData object, allowing real-time access to the Intrinsic Matrix, Radial/Tangential Distortion coefficients, and Lens Shading Maps. However, this same level of geometric transparency is missing from the AVCapturePhoto RAW/ProRAW delegate. While standard RAW files contain some metadata, they lack the physics sidecar required for precision manual alignment. Because the lens assembly in the iPhone 17 Pro is dynamic shifted constantly by Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and high-speed Voice Coil Motors (VCM) for focus a static or factor calibration is mathematically insufficient for high-precision workflows. The Problem: Without the 1:1 hardware state at the millisecond of exposure, we cannot perform accurate geometric reconstruction from RAW stills. We are forced to choose between the high dynamic range of a RAW sensor dump and the geometric precision of the video pipeline. Final Questions: Is there a documented, supported method to force the inclusion of the AVCameraCalibrationData object or a raw metadata sidecar in the AVCapturePhoto workflow? If not, can Apple provide parity between the Video and Photo APIs so that the "rawest" data (RAW) is accompanied by the "rawest" physics (Calibration Data)? Providing the pixels without the lens geometry limits the utility of the RAW format for any technical workflow requiring sub-pixel geometric integrity.
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1
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0
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809
Activity
Jun ’26
A few issues with the iPhone Photos app
I’m curious what framework and rendering technique you’re using for the photo album’s grid zoom in and out. Why is it so incredibly smooth? I can’t seem to pull that off 🤦‍♂️
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2
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0
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280
Activity
May ’26
Radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and Bayer RAW access via AVFoundation
I am working on a computational photography research project involving multi-exposure HDR reconstruction using Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW captures. I would like to clarify the radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and the availability of Bayer RAW capture through AVFoundation. My questions are: On current iPhone Pro devices, is it possible for third-party apps to capture and export true Bayer-pattern RAW DNG files through AVFoundation, rather than Apple ProRAW linear DNG files? If so, which availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes correspond to Bayer RAW, and what device or format restrictions apply? Apple ProRAW appears to be demosaiced and computationally processed, and may include multi-frame fusion. Is the decoded ProRAW image intended to be radiometrically linear and scene-referred? For a bracketed ProRAW sequence captured with fixed ISO, white balance, lens, and focus, but different exposure times, can one assume that the decoded linear pixel values Y_i(p) satisfy an exposure-proportional model in non-saturated regions, such as Y_i(p) ≈ t_i R(p), across brackets? This question is about radiometric consistency for algorithmic use, not about visual editing or tone mapping. Thank you for your help.
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508
Activity
May ’26
Markup Tool: Support for persistent tool presets (color, stroke, fill settings)
Markup Tool: Support for persistent tool presets (color, stroke, fill settings) I use Markup heavily for work — up to 20 images per day, always with the same settings: red arrow or rectangle, no fill, specific stroke width. The problem has two parts: Part 1 – Markup resets everything: Every time Markup is opened, all settings reset: tool, color, fill, stroke width. This means 3–4 manual steps per image, adding up to 80 unnecessary interactions per day. Part 2 – The default red is unusable: The red in Apple’s color palette is muted and too pale for clear, high-contrast annotations. I have to open the color wheel every single time to manually select a proper, vivid red. The copy/duplicate workaround only helps within one image — as soon as a new photo or screenshot is opened, everything starts over from scratch. Markup has no memory between different images. Switching to a third-party annotation app is not a solution — the entire advantage of Markup is its native integration directly within the Photos app, without switching apps. And Markup cannot be configured in depth through Shortcuts either — color, fill, and stroke width are not controllable there. The attached images: Image 1 shows the entry point in the Photos app. Image 2 shows Markup open with the current color palette. The blue-outlined fields do not indicate colors to be replaced — they mark the position where personally configured tool presets should appear: not individual colors, but fully pre-configured tools with color, stroke width, and fill setting already saved, ready to use with a single tap. My suggestion: Tool presets — configure once, saved permanently, available directly in the Markup toolbar. No need to re-configure color, fill, or stroke width for every new image. iOS already remembers last-used settings in many areas: camera mode, emojis, colors in Notes, Pages, and Keynote. Markup behaves as if it’s being opened for the first time, every time. This inconsistency costs me measurable time every single day.
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574
Activity
May ’26
Radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and Bayer RAW access via AVFoundation
I am working on a computational photography research project involving multi-exposure HDR reconstruction using Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW captures. I would like to clarify the radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and the availability of Bayer RAW capture through AVFoundation. My questions are: 1.On current iPhone Pro devices, is it possible for third-party apps to capture and export true Bayer-pattern RAW DNG files through AVFoundation, rather than Apple ProRAW linear DNG files? If so, which availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes correspond to Bayer RAW, and what device or format restrictions apply? 2.Apple ProRAW appears to be demosaiced and computationally processed, and may include multi-frame fusion. Is the decoded ProRAW image intended to be radiometrically linear and scene-referred? 3.For a bracketed ProRAW sequence captured with fixed ISO, white balance, lens, and focus, but different exposure times, can one assume that the decoded linear pixel values Y_i(p) satisfy an exposure-proportional model in non-saturated regions, such as Y_i(p) ≈ t_i R(p), across brackets? This question is about radiometric consistency for algorithmic use, not about visual editing or tone mapping. Thank you for your help.
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0
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522
Activity
May ’26
Detect SD Card
Both Photos and Lightroom are able to detect when a card reader has been plugged into an iPhone or iPad and a card exists with the correct DCIM format (from a digital camera). I have been unable to find the API that allows an application to do this (except using the standard file import function and making the user navigate to the card). ChatGPT tells me that Photos and Lightroom use a private API that is not made available to normal developers. Does anyone know if this is true - or if not then how to detect that a card is present using Swift?
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10
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381
Activity
May ’26
Trying to load image & identifier from photo library with PhotosPicker
I'm updating an older Mac app written in Objective C and OpenGL to be a mutliplatform app in SwiftUI and Metal. The app loads images and creates kaleidoscope animations from them. It is a document-based application, and saves info about the kaleidoscope into the document. On macOS, it creates a security-scoped bookmark to remember the user's chosen image. On iOS, I use a PhotosPicker to have the user choose an image from their photo library to use. I would like to get the itemIdentifier from the image they choose and save that into my document so I can use it to fetch the image when the user reloads the kaleidoscope document in the future. However, the call to loadTransferable is returning nil for the itemIdentifier. Here is my iOS/iPadOS code: #if os(macOS) // Mac code #else PhotosPicker("Choose image", selection: $selectedItem, matching: .images) .onChange(of: selectedItem) { Task { if let newValue = selectedItem { scopeState.isHEIC = newValue.supportedContentTypes.contains(UTType.heic) let data = try? await newValue.loadTransferable(type: Data.self) print("newValue = \(newValue)") print("newValue.supportedContentTypes = \(newValue.supportedContentTypes)") scopeState.selectedImageID = newValue.itemIdentifier scopeState.selectedImageData = data } } } #endif The debug print statements show: newValue = PhotosPickerItem(_itemIdentifier: "9386762B-C241-4EE2-9942-BC04017E35C1/L0/001", _shouldExposeItemIdentifier: false, _supportedContentTypes: [<_UTCoreType 0x20098cd40> public.png (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec060> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.standard (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec150> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.low (not dynamic, declared)], _content: _PhotosUI_SwiftUI.PhotosPickerItem.(unknown context at $1e75ee3bc).Content.result(PhotosUI.PHPickerResult(itemProvider: <PUPhotosFileProviderItemProvider: 0x11d2bd680> {types = ( "public.png", "com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.standard", "com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.low" )}, _objcResult: <PHPickerResult: 0x11b18cff0>))) newValue.supportedContentTypes = [<_UTCoreType 0x20098cd40> public.png (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec060> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.standard (not dynamic, declared), <UTType 0x11e4ec150> com.apple.private.photos.thumbnail.low (not dynamic, declared)] And the returned item has a nil itemIdentifier. (note the _shouldExposeItemIdentifier=false in the log of the selected item). How do I get the itemIdentifier for the user's chosen image? And is that valid to then fetch the asset when the user reloads their document? Is it like a security-scoped bookmark on macOS, where the itemIdentifier is like a key that gives me permission to reload the image? If not, what do I need to do in order to reload the image the next time the user opens a saved kaleidoscope document?
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1
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990
Activity
Apr ’26
Working Anti Virus for iOS
https://youtube.com/shorts/mVjjWDagSI0 I created this working anti virus app for iOS. It scans images such as this one from your camera roll to find any that may have contained or may still contain malicious code. https://github.com/hunters-sec/CVE-2025-43300 Apple terminated our developer account as a joke app. We have had several co-orindated attacks on our developer and businesses accounts around Jewish holidays and Shabbat. So it's not surprising it's like Apple uses automated app review or something. if isAntivirus() { terminateDeveloperAccount() } They said we were dishonest when in reality they were the ones that outright lied or refused to read our app review notes.
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1
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274
Activity
Apr ’26
XCUITesting Photo Library on macOS
Using XCUITesting to access images using photos picker. The code is roughly like this: photoPickerButton.click() try await Task.sleep(for: .seconds(2)) let images = app.descendants(matching: .image) .matching(identifier: "PXGGridLayout-Info") // select the first 5 images for ix in 0..<5 { let image = images.element(boundBy: ix) if image.exists { image.click() } } // why do I have to click this twice? Output says the second // click does "Falling back to element center point". app.buttons["Add"].firstMatch.click() app.buttons["Add"].firstMatch.click() Other than the minor annoyance of having to click the Add button twice that works fine. The issue is the second time in the same test I run almost identical code, but only try to select the first image as a test for handling duplicate selections. Doesn't work. The first image returned from the query exists, but is not hittable. This is a testing issue as running the steps manually work fine. The element I want to click is this: Attributes: Image, 0x73511d540, {{1794.0, 745.2}, {98.0, 73.5}}, identifier: 'PXGGridLayout-Info', label: 'February 02, 1:00 PM' Any ideas?
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513
Activity
Mar ’26
macOS 26.4 regression with Mac Catalyst apps using PhotoKit: Photos do not appear when using limited access - Failed to get sandbox extension for url - Image request failed with error PHPhotosErrorDomain Code 3303
I just submitted FB22318443. In Mac Catalyst apps running on macOS 26.4, if you choose to limit the app's access to specific photos (as opposed to granting full access), the photos do not appear in the app. 💀 This issue does not occur on iPadOS. It is a macOS 26.4 regression. It occurs even with apps built using a previous version of the SDK such as 26.2. A sample of the console logs: [RM]: 4-1-1 failed to decode for asset: 9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D, error code: 3303, description: Error Domain=PHPhotosErrorDomain Code=3303 "(null)" Failed to get sandbox extension for url: file:///Users/Jordan/Pictures/Photos%20Library.photoslibrary/resources/derivatives/masters/9/9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D_4_5005_c.jpeg, error: Error Domain=com.apple.photos.error Code=44001 "sandbox extension not in the cache after requesting them for path: /Users/Jordan/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/derivatives/masters/9/9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D_4_5005_c.jpeg" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=sandbox extension not in the cache after requesting them for path: /Users/Jordan/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/derivatives/masters/9/9290CC20-B85D-47B5-BDBE-D330FE61773D_4_5005_c.jpeg} [RM]: 1-1-1 Image request failed with error: Error Domain=PHPhotosErrorDomain Code=3303 "(null)"
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677
Activity
Mar ’26
Repeated NUIdentifier crash
Some of our app's users are repeatedly running into a crash on NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithNamespace:name:version:] + 2352. It looks from the stack trace like multiple threads are performing PHFetchRequests, but that shouldn't be causing a crash. It's isolated to a small number of users, which makes me think that it's something related to their specific Photos databases (e.g., data corruption.) Do you have any suggestions how I might be able to resolve this? 2 libsystem_c.dylib abort + 124 3 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionPolicyCrashReport notifyAssertion:] + 66 4 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionPolicyComposite notifyAssertion:] + 160 5 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionPolicyUnique notifyAssertion:] + 176 6 NeutrinoCore -[NUAssertionHandler handleFailureInFunction:file:lineNumber:currentlyExecutingJobName:description:arguments:] + 156 7 NeutrinoCore _NUAssertFailHandler + 176 8 NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithNamespace:name:version:] + 2352 9 NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithName:version:] + 84 10 NeutrinoCore -[NUIdentifier initWithName:] + 68 11 PhotoImaging +[PISchema identifier] + 36 12 PhotoImaging +[PISchema registeredPhotosSchemaIdentifier] + 32 13 PhotoImaging +[PIPhotoEditHelper newComposition] + 28 14 PhotoImaging +[PICompositionSerializer deserializeCompositionFromAdjustments:metadata:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:sidecarData:error:] + 160 15 PhotoImaging +[PICompositionSerializer deserializeCompositionFromData:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:sidecarData:error:] + 224 16 PhotoLibraryServices -[PLPhotoEditPersistenceManager loadCompositionFrom:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:sidecarData:error:] + 1848 17 PhotoLibraryServices +[PLPhotoEditPersistenceManager validateAdjustmentData:formatIdentifier:formatVersion:error:] + 108 18 Photos __167+[PHContentEditingInputRequestContext contentEditingInputRequestContextForAsset:requestID:managerID:networkAccessAllowed:downloadIntent:progressHandler:resultHandler:]_block_invoke + 260 19 Photos -[PHAdjustmentData(ContentEditingInput) _contentEditing_readableByClientWithVerificationBlock:] + 136 20 Photos -[PHAdjustmentData(ContentEditingInput) _contentEditing_requiredBaseVersionReadableByClient:verificationBlock:] + 88 21 Photos -[PHContentEditingInputRequestContext _adjustmentBaseVersionFromResult:request:canHandleAdjustmentData:] + 356 22 Photos -[PHContentEditingInputRequestContext produceChildRequestsForRequest:reportingIsLocallyAvailable:isDegraded:result:] + 624 23 Photos -[PHMediaRequestContext _produceChildRequestsForRequest:withResult:] + 88 24 Photos -[PHMediaRequestContext mediaRequest:didFinishWithResult:] + 92 25 Photos -[PHAdjustmentDataRequest _finishFromAsynchronousCallback] + 124 26 Photos __39-[PHAdjustmentDataRequest startRequest]_block_invoke + 584 27 PhotoLibraryServicesCore __106-[PLAssetsdResourceClient adjustmentDataForAsset:networkAccessAllowed:trackCPLDownload:completionHandler:]block_invoke.84 + 880 28 CoreFoundation invoking + 148 29 CoreFoundation -[NSInvocation invoke] + 424 30 Foundation <deduplicated_symbol> + 16 31 Foundation -[NSXPCConnection _decodeAndInvokeReplyBlockWithEvent:sequence:replyInfo:] + 528 32 Foundation __88-[NSXPCConnection _sendInvocation:orArguments:count:methodSignature:selector:withProxy:]_block_invoke_5 + 188 33 libxpc.dylib _xpc_connection_reply_callout + 124 42 libsystem_pthread.dylib start_wqthread + 8
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638
Activity
Feb ’26