Camera Downgrade? Apple Confirms iPhone 17 Lacks Night Mode Portrait — A Staple Pro Feature

Apple has confirmed that the iPhone 17 series will not support Night Mode in Portrait photography, according to a support document from the tech giant.

Night Mode enables the user to extend the exposure time so that their camera can brighten up an area in focus that has low lighting.

The exposure time can go up to many seconds based on the lighting of the environment and the amount of detail users wish to capture.

This feature has been available to users from the iPhone 12 Pro onwards in 2020, but was removed from the latest series without explanation.

The device still came with new hardware features exclusive to it such as a new Center Stage front camera, three 48MP fusion cameras as well as software features like Dual Capture which allows users to record videos from both the front and back camera at the same time.

However, people will lose the ability to take clear pictures in dimly lit environments using portrait mode. The missing feature was spotted prior to the official confirmation as users flooded Apple's support forums and platforms like Reddit expressing dissatisfaction with its absence, and checking whether this was intentional.

This is the latest controversy the iPhone 17 models have landed in after a YouTube video in September from the channel 'JerryRigEverything', run by tech blogger Zack Nelson, reported that the edges of the camera bump are highly prone to scratches, causing the color to chip easily.

The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 pro have a shiny coat of colour created by an anodised aluminium layer. On the face of it, it is a tough material, with the vlogger saying that it is "second only to diamonds in hardness."

But this also meant that the sharp corners of the camera bump are at the weakest point of the coating, due to lack of plating to secure the aluminum oxide, leading to the risk of chipping away.