Photos & Camera

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Explore technical aspects of capturing high-quality photos and videos, including exposure control, focus modes, and RAW capture options.

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Are White Balance gains applied before or after ADC?
At which point in the image processing pipeline does iOS apply the white balance gains which can be set via AVCaptureDevice.setWhiteBalanceModeLocked(with:completionHandler:)? Are those gains applied in the analog part of the camera pipeline, before the pixel voltage gets converted via the ADC to digital values? Or does the camera first convert the pixel voltages to digital values and then the gains are applied to the digital values? Is this consistent across devices or can the behavior vary from device to device?
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360
Jan ’26
Camera Shutter Sound Control on iOS (Programmatic Query)
Hi Apple Developer Support Team, We are developing an iOS application using a camera package within a hybrid (cross-platform) framework, and we would like to confirm whether it is possible to disable the camera shutter sound programmatically. As per our understanding, the shutter sound on iOS is system-controlled and depends on the device’s silent/ring mode, and there is no App Store–approved API available to force-disable this sound. Kindly confirm whether this understanding is correct or if any supported alternative approach exists for hybrid or native implementations. Thank you for your clarification. Best regards, ParkhyaSolutions
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516
Jan ’26
AVCam Sample Code - Undesired "Jump" in Video Recording Image
On iPhone 16 Pro Max (not tested other devices) there's a noticeable jump in the framing of the preview video when you record in the iOS AVCam Sample App. The same jump in camera framing can be observed by switching to the front facing camera and then back to the rear one. It looks roughly consistent with switching between the 0.5x and 1x camera (but not quite a match for the same viewable area in the Camera app) - and it's only when it's initially loaded, once recording is started it retains the 'closer' image no matter how many times it's stopped/started thereafter. I'm relatively new to Swift and haven't done anything with the camera before, so odd 'buggy' behaviour in the sample code isn't helping me understand it! :-) Is there any way to fix this?
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294
Jan ’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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200
Feb ’26
Camera layout within a sheet in iOS26
When inputting data within a sheet, I'm allowing the user to take a photo, so the camera is called and presents itself within a 2nd sheet, however the controls are centered within the iPhone's entire screen, cropping the top controls and not extending down to the bottom of the phone's screen. Any help on how to fix this?
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107
Feb ’26
Background Upload Extension Bug on iOS 26.2
While implementing the new background backup feature introduced in iOS 26.1, I create a PHAssetResourceUploadJob in an Extension. On iOS 26.1, the system successfully triggers the upload. However, on iOS 26.2, although the job is created successfully and all related configurations are correctly set, the system does not trigger the upload. Could you please help confirm the cause of this issue? Thank you.
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147
2w
Blockchain question
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. 🤷🏽‍♀️
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49
3w
Corrupted image data when using QualityPrioritization.Quality on iPhone 17 Pro
Hey, I've noticed that in some scenarios photo data can be corrupted from the cameras on iPhone 17 Pro. The requirements are: The zoom level is greater than 2 times the base zoom, so 2x for the wide lens, and 8x for the telephoto. QualityPrioritization is set to .Quality. If set to .Balanced the images look as expected. The scene is well lit. I haven't managed to work out if there's an ISO cut off, but in darker scenes the images look as expected. The scene does not contain any objects or texture, e.g. a blank white screen, a blue sky, up close against a bright wall. Here is an example: This is really weird behavior. I have opened a ticket here: https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/feedback/22092908 There's also a repo here if anyone would like to try it: https://github.com/alexfoxy/CameraQualityTest. Thanks, Alex
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86
1w
Virtual Camera Shows Jittering Frames and Solid Accent Color on macOS
Hello Apple Developer Support, I’m developing a virtual camera using the CMIOExtensionDevice / CMIOExtensionStreamSource APIs on macOS. While the virtual camera appears in system settings and apps like Zoom and Google Meet, the video output exhibits the following issues: Jittering frames: The first frame sometimes appears correctly, but subsequent frames flicker or jitter. Solid color fill: Eventually, the camera feed fills entirely with a solid accent color (e.g., blue), rather than the intended video content. Console logs: Repeated messages appear in Console.app: Invalid display 0x00000000 Setup details: The virtual camera is created using CMIOExtensionDevice and CMIOExtensionStream. Video frames are rendered from NSImage/CGImage using CGContext and copied into CVPixelBuffers. Frame delivery is controlled by a DispatchSourceTimer at 60 FPS. macOS version: [Your macOS version here] Xcode version: [Your Xcode version here] Observations: The Invalid display 0x00000000 logs suggest that CGContext drawing or NSImage operations are failing in headless mode (i.e., there is no real display attached to the virtual camera). Using CIContext with .useSoftwareRenderer = true appears to mitigate some flicker, but not entirely. Questions / Requests: Is it expected that CoreMediaIO virtual cameras cannot reliably render CGImage / NSImage frames offscreen? Are there recommended APIs or approaches to render virtual camera frames fully headless to avoid display-dependent jitter? Is there any documentation or sample code from Apple showing stable video output from a virtual camera extension that does not rely on a physical display? Any guidance or examples would be greatly appreciated. This issue prevents the virtual camera from being used reliably in standard video apps. Thank you, Savvy
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1w
Implementing PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension
Hi, I am trying to implement a PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension to upload backup media files to an external cloud service based on these docs: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/PhotoKit/uploading-asset-resources-in-the-background#Acknowledge-completed-jobs Creating jobs and actual uploading is working as expected, but the problem I have is in the acknowledgeCompletedJobs() function. When in this function, I am trying to access a job's resource. The resource is nil and thus has empty assetLocalIdentifier and originalFilename. Did anybody successfully implement this extension or knows, why this would happen? Because the resource of an acknowledgable job is empty, I can not match it back to my processed assets.
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46
1w
How to get iCloud item(photo/video) size?
How I can get iCloud photo file size? Could I use private API like this in prod? Does anyone know another way? (without downloading the file to the device) func getFileSize(asset: PHAsset) -> Int64? { let resources = PHAssetResource.assetResources(for: asset) let resource = resources.first let size = resource?.value(forKey: "fileSize") as? Int64 return size }
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3d
How to upload large videos with PHAssetResourceUploadJobChangeRequest?
I'm implementing a PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension to back up photos and videos from the user's library to our cloud storage service. Our existing upload infrastructure uses chunked uploads for large files (splitting videos into smaller byte ranges and uploading each chunk separately). This approach: Allows resumable uploads if interrupted Stays within server-side request size limits Provides granular progress tracking Looking at the PHAssetResourceUploadJobChangeRequest.createJob(destination:resource:) API, I don't see a way to specify byte ranges or create multiple jobs for chunks of the same resource. Questions: Does the system handle large files (1GB+) automatically under the hood, or is there a recommended maximum file size for a single upload job? Is there a supported pattern for chunked/resumable uploads, or should the destination URL endpoint handle the entire file in one request? If our server requires chunked uploads (e.g., BITS protocol with CreateSession → Fragment → CloseSession), is this extension the right mechanism, or should we use a different approach for large videos? Any guidance on best practices for large asset uploads would be greatly appreciated. Environment: iOS 26, Xcode 18
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3d
DockKit gimbal reported yaw drifts by upwards of 45 degrees after running for a while
This is an issue with the Insta360 Flow Pro 2. My iOS app uses DockKit to control the gimbal; in particular, my app disables tracking and sends angular velocity commands to control the gimbal's orientation. I only try to modify the yaw (rotation around the vertical axis); never the pitch or yaw. Note that I don't send the gimbal to a particular orientation directly; I modify the velocity. Everything works great for a long period of time: typically for a continuous run of 4-6 hours; in the most recent case, I managed about 36 hours of continous operation before the following problem occurred. I came back to check on the system, and because no visual activity had occurred in the camera's field of view for a while, the phone had commanded the gimbal to rotate back to a yaw angle of 0 degrees. So the phone in the gimbal should have been looking straight ahead (i.e. the 0 degree yaw position), but it was definitely looking off at an angle. I've seen this twice now. The first time, when it should have been looking straight ahead, it was in fact looking 60 degrees off center. This time (caught on video, see below), it was off by 22 degrees from center. Here's the weird part: the gimbal reports this way off center positioning as zero degrees (well close enough to zero, like 0.2 or something that's fine). But, mechanically, the gimbal still knows where zero degrees is: if we double click on the trigger of the Flow Pro 2, which is supposed to reset the gimbal to 0 degrees yaw and pitch, the gimbal responds correctly and reorients to a 0 degree position. However, the yaw values it reports are not zero, but as shown in my video, 22 degrees off axis or so. Power cycling the gimbal and restarting immediately fixes the problem. Also, I switched from my app to the Insta360 app, which caused the phone to flip from landscape to portrait, then when I returned to my app and switched back to landscape, the gimbal now started reporting correct yaw angles. Is there a possibility this is a bug in the DockKit framework? Has anyone seen this? I have a case open with Insta360, but although it's clearly a software issue, it's not clear if it's in Insta360's code or the DockKit layer. Any ideas for how I can get out of this mode? My concern is that the phone is in a tripod about 10' off the floor, and not very accessible. Also, if all goes well, we may have about 50 of these systems running, and having to fix them one by one after a few hours is not good. For a demonstration of this bug, see the following video: https://octoparry.com/offset.MOV Any help greatly appreciated.
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541
Jun ’25
Moving photos to a shared library programmatically
Hello everyone, I am looking for a solution to programmatically, e.g. using AppleScript to import photos into the Photos library on MacOS and also push them to the shared library, like it can be done using the standard GUI of the Photos application. Maybe it is not possible using AppleScript, but using a short Swift script and PhotoKit, I do not not know. Any help is appreciated! Thomas
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213
Apr ’25
Unable to Fetch Videos from Recently Deleted Album Using Photos Framework in iOS 18.3.1
Hello everyone, I’m working on an iOS app that fetches videos from the "Recently Deleted" album using the Photos framework in Swift. However, I’m unable to fetch any videos, even though the "Recently Deleted" album contains 233 items (including videos), as seen in the Photos app. Environment: iOS Version: 18.3.1 Xcode Version: 16.2 Swift Version: Swift 5 Device: iPhone (simulator and physical device both tested) Photo Library Permission: "All Photos" access granted Recently Deleted Lock: Face ID/Passcode is disabled for "Recently Deleted"
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159
Mar ’25
When getting the PHPickerResult from user selecting media in the Photos app, how to check file extension?
when I get results from picker: PHPickerViewController, didFinishPicking results: [PHPickerResult]) and I load the image using itemProvider .loadFileRepresentation (the itemProvider is the NSItemProvider provided by the PHPickerResult) will the url that's returned by this method be guaranteed to have the file extension ie, "file://image.jpeg" not "file://image" I want to know if i need to just check the extension to know its file type. (FYI in case this makes a difference, im only interested in user screenshots and screenrecordings)
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236
Apr ’25