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.

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.

I’m a normie: not a developer at all. My idea might be super dumb. Would it be possible to please let us have a button in iphone photos that when toggled allows us to save certain chosen raw images to an iphone block chain, AND have Apple authenticate they are native photos, marked the milisecond they were taken, that they are native and no AI was used on those images? That might go a long way toward restoring trust in truth in photos again. We could also have the same thing for AI. Marked notification in the data on AI photos that can't be erased. Sorry if this is already underway and I'm just a normal person and therefore don't know it. I just want to be able to trust things again. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Feedback: PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension is never scheduled when iCloud Photos is enabled Summary PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension's init() and process() methods are never called by the system when iCloud Photos is enabled on the device, even though setUploadJobExtensionEnabled(true) succeeds and uploadJobExtensionEnabled returns true. Environment iOS 26.4 (both devices) Xcode 26.x Tested on iPhone 17 Pro (primary device, 10,000+ photos) and an older iPhone (development device, 200+ photos) Same build deployed to both devices Full photo library access (.authorized) on both devices Steps to Reproduce Create an app with a PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension (ExtensionKit, extension point com.apple.photos.background-upload) Enable iCloud Photos on the device (Settings > Photos > iCloud Photos) In the host app, request .readWrite photo library authorization and receive .authorized Call PHPhotoLibrary.shared().setUploadJobExtensionEnabled(true) — succeeds without error Verify PHPhotoLibrary.shared().uploadJobExtensionEnabled == true Wait for the system to schedule the extension (tested overnight, with device on charger + WiFi) Expected Behavior The system should call the extension's init() and process() methods to allow the app to create upload jobs, as documented in "Uploading asset resources in the background." Actual Behavior The extension's init() and process() are never called. The extension process is never launched. Investigation via Console.app Using Console.app to monitor system logs on both devices revealed the root cause: When iCloud Photos is DISABLED (extension works correctly): assetsd Checked all submitted library bundles. Result: YES dasd SUBMITTING: com.apple.assetsd.backgroundjobservice.assetresourceuploadextensionrunner:35E7B5 dasd Submitted: ...assetresourceuploadextensionrunner at priority 5 dasd submitTaskRequestWithIdentifier: Submitted BGSystemTask com.apple.assetsd.backgroundjobservice.assetresourceuploadextensionrunner The extension is subsequently launched and init() / process() are called as expected. When iCloud Photos is ENABLED (extension never works): assetsd Checked all submitted library bundles. Result: NO No assetresourceuploadextensionrunner background task is ever submitted to dasd. The extension is never launched. Reproducibility 100% reproducible across two different devices Toggling iCloud Photos off (and waiting for sync to complete) immediately resolves the issue Toggling iCloud Photos on immediately causes the issue to reappear Reinstalling the app does not help The same build works on the same device when iCloud Photos is disabled Impact This effectively makes PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension unusable for the vast majority of users, as most iPhone users have iCloud Photos enabled. Third-party photo backup apps (Google Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.) would all be affected by this limitation. The documentation for "Uploading asset resources in the background" does not mention any incompatibility with iCloud Photos being enabled. Requested Resolution Please either: Allow PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension to be scheduled regardless of iCloud Photos status, or Document this limitation clearly in the API documentation if it is intentional behavior

I’m seeing a reproducible system-level Camera crash/termination on iPhone Air running iOS 26.4.2. Steps to reproduce: Press Camera Control to launch the Camera app. Tap the lower-left thumbnail to enter the recent photo view. Browse photos, or tap Edit and start cropping a photo. The Camera/Photos flow unexpectedly exits and returns to the Home Screen or widget view. Additional detail: The issue can happen whether or not a new photo is taken after launching Camera with Camera Control. In other words, using Camera Control as a shortcut into Camera, then tapping the lower-left thumbnail to browse photos, can trigger the issue. Sometimes it happens while only browsing photos, without entering Edit. Expected result: The photo viewer/editor should stay open and allow normal browsing or cropping. Actual result: The flow exits unexpectedly. Mac Console evidence: Around 2026-05-12 21:53:59-21:54:00, Console showed SpringBoard/RunningBoard terminating com.apple.camera. Relevant log excerpt: Capture Application Requirements Unmet: "AVCaptureEventInteraction not installed" reportType: CrashLog ReportCrash Parsing corpse data for pid 94087 com.apple.camera: Foreground: false Storage is sufficient. Restart/reset-style support steps have already been tried and did not resolve the issue. This appears specific to the Camera Control launch path, not normal Photos app browsing. Has anyone else seen this on iOS 26.x, or is this a known Camera Control / AVCaptureEventInteraction regression? Already Filed as FB22766094.

Hi, I'm looking for some clarity around hardware implementation details for the Iphone 17 Pro / Pro Max's camera sync via SMPTE ST2139. Question 1 (Signaling) ST2139 specifies that on the USB connector, D+ (pin A6 and B6), D- (pin A7 and B7) SBU1 (A8) and SBU2 (B8) can be used for sync signals. Does the iphone 17 pro / pro-max support all of these per the standard, or only a subset of these pins for sync signaling? Question 2 (Frame rates) Does the Iphone 17 pro / pro-max support ST2139 sync at any / all of its video rates (24, 25, 30, 60, 100, 120 fps), or only a subset of those? Question 3 (Sync tolerances) What is the tolerance of these rates to sync variation (ie would the phone/camera accept 29.970 sync when the camera is set to 30 fps?) and what are the tolerances for jitter to maintain a good sync lock? Thanks

I'm getting the following output from my iOS app's debug console, note the error on the last line: Capture format keys: ["600x600@25", "1200x1200@5", "1200x1200@30", "1600x1200@2", "1600x1200@30", "3200x2400@15", "3200x2400@2", "600x600@30"] Start capture session for 1600x1200@30: <AVCaptureSession: 0x303c70190 [AVCaptureSessionPresetPhoto]> Stop capture session: <AVCaptureSession: 0x303c70190 [AVCaptureSessionPresetInputPriority]> <AVCaptureDeviceInput: 0x303ebb720 [Medwand S3 Camera]>[vide] -> <AVCaptureVideoDataOutput: 0x303edf1e0> <AVCaptureDeviceInput: 0x303ebb720 [Medwand S3 Camera]>[vide] -> <AVCapturePhotoOutput: 0x303ee3e20> <AVCaptureDeviceInput: 0x303ebb720 [Medwand S3 Camera]>[vide] -> <AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer: 0x3030b33c0> Start capture session for 600x600@30: <AVCaptureSession: 0x303c70190 [AVCaptureSessionPresetInputPriority]> <AVCaptureDeviceInput: 0x303ebb720 [Medwand S3 Camera]>[vide] -> <AVCaptureVideoDataOutput: 0x303edf1e0> <AVCaptureDeviceInput: 0x303ebb720 [Medwand S3 Camera]>[vide] -> <AVCapturePhotoOutput: 0x303ee3e20> <AVCaptureDeviceInput: 0x303ebb720 [Medwand S3 Camera]>[vide] -> <AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer: 0x3030b33c0> <<<< FigSharedMemPool >>>> Fig assert: "blkHdr->useCount > 0" at (FigSharedMemPool.c:591) - (err=0) This is in response to trying to switch capture formats between the two key modes that must regularly be used by my application. Below you will find the functions that I use to start and stop capturing frames to my preview layer. I have a UI with three buttons. Off Mode 1 Mode 2 If I tap the Off button in between tapping Mode 1 or Mode 2 all is well; I can do this all day. However, attempt to jump between Mode 1andMode 2` directly I run into issues. I added a layer of software between the UI and the underlying functions so that I could make sure to turn off the Camera before turning it back on in the opposite mode and was surprised to get this output. Can someone at Apple please tell me what is going on here? For the rest of you, if anyone knows the magic incantation to safely switch camera formats, please paste that code here. Thanks. I've included my code below. func start(for deviceFormat: String) { sessionQueue.async { [unowned self] in logger.debug("Start capture session for \(deviceFormat): \(self.captureSession)") do { guard let format = formatDict[deviceFormat] else { throw Error.captureFormatNotFound } captureSession.stopRunning() captureSession.beginConfiguration() // May not be necessary. try captureDevice.lockForConfiguration() // Without this we get an error. captureDevice.activeFormat = format captureDevice.unlockForConfiguration() // Matching function: Necessary. captureSession.commitConfiguration() // Matching function: May not be necessary. captureSession.startRunning() } catch { logger.fault("Failed to start camera: \(error.localizedDescription)") errorPublisher.send(error) } } } func stop() { sessionQueue.async { [unowned self] in logger.debug("Stop capture session: \(self.captureSession)") captureSession.stopRunning() } }

let authStatus = PHPhotoLibrary.authorizationStatus(for: .readWrite) let fetchResult = PHAsset.fetchAssets(withLocalIdentifiers: selectedAssetIDs, options: nil) print("[AlbumCreation] authStatus=\(authStatus.rawValue) IDs=\(selectedAssetIDs.count) PHAsset匹配=\(fetchResult.count)") // result is: [AlbumCreation] authStatus=3 IDs=3 PHAsset匹配=3 var config = PHPickerConfiguration(photoLibrary: .shared()) config.preselectedAssetIdentifiers = selectedAssetIDs config.selectionLimit = 0 let picker = PHPickerViewController(configuration: config) picker.delegate = self present(picker, animated: true)

Hi AVFoundation team, I'm seeing a uniform 90° offset in AVCaptureDevice.RotationCoordinator's reported angles between iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro using the front-facing .builtInWideAngleCamera (Center Stage on 17 Pro), and I'd like to confirm whether this is by design and what the recommended consumption pattern is when the rendering surface is an AVSampleBufferDisplayLayer rather than an AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer. Here is the github repo of sample project. Setup Devices: iPhone 14 Pro (iOS 26.5) and iPhone 17 Pro (iOS 26.4.2) Camera: front, AVCaptureDeviceTypeBuiltInWideAngleCamera Active format: 1920×1080 Three RotationCoordinator instances are created on the same AVCaptureDevice, varying only the previewLayer: argument: - previewLayer: nil - previewLayer: AVSampleBufferDisplayLayer (the surface receiving frames from AVCaptureVideoDataOutput) - previewLayer: AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer (with .session = captureSession, not displayed) Each instance is KVO-observed for videoRotationAngleForHorizonLevelPreview and videoRotationAngleForHorizonLevelCapture. Observed angles Device / Orientation: 14 Pro · Portrait (interface=1) RC[nil] prev / cap: 0° / 90° RC[AVSampleBufferLayer] prev / cap: 90° / 90° RC[AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer] prev / cap: 0° / 90° ──────────────────────────────────────── Device / Orientation: 14 Pro · LandscapeRight (interface=3) RC[nil] prev / cap: 0° / 180° RC[AVSampleBufferLayer] prev / cap: 180° / 180° RC[AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer] prev / cap: 0° / 180° ──────────────────────────────────────── Device / Orientation: 17 Pro · Portrait (interface=1) RC[nil] prev / cap: 0° / 0° RC[AVSampleBufferLayer] prev / cap: 0° / 0° RC[AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer] prev / cap: 0° / 0° ──────────────────────────────────────── Device / Orientation: 17 Pro · LandscapeRight (interface=3) RC[nil] prev / cap: 0° / 90° RC[AVSampleBufferLayer] prev / cap: 90° / 90° RC[AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer] prev / cap: 0° / 90° The −90° offset on 17 Pro is uniform: it appears in every RC variant, in both the preview-angle and the capture-angle properties, at every orientation tested. It is not specific to the previewLayer: argument.

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.

Whilst AVCaptureSession is setup to capture ProRes RAW video, is it possible to get video pixel data which can read and processed, such as using CIImage(cvPixelBuffer: ) AVCaptureVideoDataOutput outputs ProRes RAW in kCVPixelFormatType_96VersatileBayerPacked12 pixel format. Is there a provided way to debayer this pixel format into something more usable?

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?

I'm developing an iOS app that uses Apple's DockKit framework to control gimbals. I've tested with the Insta360 Flow 2 Pro and the DJI Osmo Mobile 8. The Flow 2 Pro supports all DockKit motor control APIs — setAngularVelocity, setOrientation, setLimits — which lets my app do manual pan/tilt control via a virtual joystick. The Osmo Mobile 8 (model DS308, firmware 1.0.0) connects fine via DockKit and reports as docked, but every motor control API fails with "The device doesn't support the requested operation": setAngularVelocity — fails setOrientation(relative: true) — fails setLimits — fails The only thing that works is Apple's system tracking (setSystemTrackingEnabled(true)) for automatic face/body following. This means there's no way for third-party apps to do manual gimbal control (pan/tilt via joystick) on the Osmo 8 through DockKit — only automatic tracking works. Questions: Is anyone else seeing the same limitation with the Osmo 8 and DockKit? Has DJI confirmed whether manual motor control via DockKit is intentionally unsupported, or is this a firmware issue that might be addressed in an update? Does the DJI Mimo app use DockKit for its tracking, or does it use a proprietary Bluetooth protocol? Running iOS 26.4 on iPhone 15 Pro. Happy to share more technical details if helpful.

Somewhere since iOS 26, the LockedCameraCapture framework gets in an unpredictable state after opening the main app from the LockedCamera extension using LockedCameraCaptureSession.openApplication(for userActivity:). (Feedback with sample code to reproduce: FB21966835) Opening the extension from the lock screen again doesn’t open the extension but puts the lock screen in a state as if it has. Content updated from LockedCameraCaptureManager.shared.sessionContentUpdates comes in inconsistently, usually needs the app to be opened again or the extension to be opened. This makes using this extension impossible for me as I use it to record video files that manually need to be imported when the app is launched (so not through PhotoKit). Does anybody have a suggestion to circumvent this issue or how to get this fixed?

I am using iPad Pro M4 device to apply exposure point to the camera. While converting layerPointConverted from 0 -1 range to device size point it is giving wrong value. But if same code is used for other iPad like Gen2, it gives proper value. In both cases video gravity used is resizeAspectFill. I tried using true depth camera for M4 device but it does not work.

This issue affects camera session behavior and UI integration. I would like to request improved support or clarification regarding the simultaneous use of ARFaceTrackingConfiguration and AVCaptureMultiCamSession. Currently, when attempting to use both: Front camera (TrueDepth) for gaze tracking using ARFaceTrackingConfiguration Rear camera for live preview using AVCaptureMultiCamSession the ARKit face tracking stops updating, or the application becomes unstable (e.g., camera preview turns white or the app crashes). Steps to Reproduce: Start ARSession using ARFaceTrackingConfiguration (front camera) Start AVCaptureMultiCamSession using rear camera Overlay both outputs in a single UI Observe that ARKit tracking stops or camera preview becomes invalid Expected Result: ARKit face tracking continues updating while the rear camera is active. Actual Result: ARKit tracking stops updating, and camera output may become unstable or crash. Use Case: This functionality is important for accessibility and educational applications. For example, users can control UI via gaze input (front camera) while observing real-world objects using the rear camera. Request: Support simultaneous use of ARFaceTrackingConfiguration and AVCaptureMultiCamSession, or Improve resource sharing between TrueDepth and rear cameras, or Provide clear documentation about current limitations This feature would significantly enhance accessibility applications on iPad. Attachment: A photo is attached showing the issue on a real iPad device. In the image, the camera preview becomes white while the application is running, indicating unstable behavior when both ARKit face tracking and rear camera capture are active simultaneously.

While working on a heart rate measurement app (photoplethysmography via camera), we faced systematic err=-17281 (FigCaptureSourceRemote) issues on real devices starting from iOS 17+, and the problem became more noticeable after iOS 26. The error often appeared during AVCaptureSession initialization or when restarting capture, especially under high frame rates (30-60 FPS) and frequent foreground/background transitions. Root cause (our understanding): Camera hardware/session not fully released after previous use Race conditions between session teardown and new setup Changes in AVFoundation capture pipeline in recent iOS versions Our solution: Instead of blocking delays, we implemented asynchronous retry logic with explicit hardware readiness check via AVCaptureDevice.lockForConfiguration().

Hi, I'm investigating whether 18MP photo capture from the front camera on iPhone 17 Pro is available to third-party apps using AVFoundation. I first inspected all available AVCaptureDevice formats, but I could not find any format corresponding to ~18MP resolution (e.g., around 4896×3672). for format in device.formats { let desc = format.formatDescription let dims = CMVideoFormatDescriptionGetDimensions(desc) print("Format: (dims.width) x (dims.height)") } All reported formats appear to be limited to resolutions such as 4032×3024 (12MP) or below. Question: Is 18MP front camera capture actually available to third-party apps via AVFoundation on iPhone 17?

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)"

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