Apple Confirms iPhone 17 Pro Drops Night Mode Portraits — What Changes for Your Low‑Light Photos (December 4, 2025)

On December 4, 2025, Apple’s latest camera controversy became official: the iPhone 17 Pro no longer supports Night mode Portraits, a feature that’s been standard on Pro iPhones since the iPhone 12 Pro. Apple’s own support documentation, combined with independent testing, now confirms that the flagship model forces users to choose between brighter Night mode shots and Portrait-style background blur — but not both at once. ^[1]

The change first surfaced in user reports on Apple’s own discussion forums and Reddit, where iPhone 17 Pro owners noticed that Night mode never appeared when shooting in Portrait mode. Tech outlets including Macworld, 9to5Mac, BGR and, today, The Mac Observer have since verified the behavior and tied it to Apple’s updated Night mode support page. ^[2]

So what exactly changed, why does it matter, and what can photographers do about it today? Let’s break it down.

What is Night mode Portrait — and why do photographers care?

Night mode itself arrived with the iPhone 11 in 2019, enabling much longer exposures in low light by stacking multiple frames to produce brighter, cleaner photos. ^[3]

A year later, Apple combined that long‑exposure magic with Portrait mode on the iPhone 12 Pro lineup. Thanks to the LiDAR scanner, these phones could gather a detailed depth map even in near darkness, allowing you to get: ^[4]

A brighter image in very low light
A natural‑looking blurred background (bokeh)
More accurate subject separation than standard Portrait mode in the dark

For many users, Night mode Portraits became the go‑to option for evening portraits at restaurants, events, and city streets — essentially “Portrait mode that actually works at night.”

Over subsequent generations, Apple expanded its computational pipeline so that, starting with the iPhone 15 Pro, the Camera app often captured depth information automatically for regular photos as well. That allowed you to convert many standard shots into portraits later in the Photos app. ^[5]

What changed on iPhone 17 Pro?

On the iPhone 17 Pro (and 17 Pro Max), that long‑standing combination of Night mode + Portrait is gone. Multiple independent tests and Apple’s own documentation agree on three key behaviors: ^[6]

Night mode never appears in Portrait mode on iPhone 17 Pro.
- On earlier Pro phones, switching to Portrait in dim light would still show the Night mode icon, letting you shoot Night mode Portraits.
- On iPhone 17 Pro, that icon simply doesn’t show up when you’re in Portrait mode, no matter how dark it is.
Night mode shots no longer store depth data on iPhone 17 Pro.
- Since iPhone 15 Pro, most standard photos quietly contain depth information so you can apply Portrait blur later.
- Macworld’s testing shows that on iPhone 17 Pro, if Night mode kicks in, the resulting image does not contain the depth data needed to convert it into a portrait afterward. ^[7]
You must pick: bright Night mode photo or Portrait blur, not both.
- In very dark scenes, your real‑world choice on iPhone 17 Pro becomes:
  - Night mode (no Portrait): brighter but flat background.
  - Portrait (no Night mode): darker photo that depends heavily on available light.

In practice, that’s a clear downgrade for anyone who’s used to shooting low‑light portraits on a 12 Pro, 13 Pro, 14 Pro, 15 Pro or 16 Pro. 9to5Mac describes it as a “key Camera app feature” that’s been removed from the newest Pro model, despite being present on every Pro generation since 2020. ^[8]

Apple’s documentation: which iPhones still support Night mode Portraits?

Apple’s Night mode support article now explicitly lists which models support Night mode Portrait. That list includes: ^[9]

iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max

Notably absent from that list: the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The same Apple support page still describes Night mode in general, as well as Night mode selfies and Night mode time‑lapse on recent models, but its dedicated Night mode Portrait section stops at the iPhone 16 Pro generation. BGR points out that this suggests the page has been updated for newer devices yet intentionally omits the 17 Pro from the Portrait support list. ^[10]

Taken together with hands‑on testing and user reports, the picture is clear: Apple has formally dropped Night mode Portrait support on the iPhone 17 Pro lineup.

Why would Apple remove Night mode Portraits?

Apple hasn’t issued any public explanation, and none of the press materials for iPhone 17 Pro mention the removal. The official launch release focuses instead on its new Pro Fusion camera system, triple 48MP sensors, and A19 Pro‑powered computational features like Dual Capture and Apple Intelligence. ^[11]

In the absence of a statement from Apple, reviewers have put forward a few plausible theories — clearly labeling them as speculation: ^[12]

Too slow and confusing for many users
- Night mode already extends exposure times, sometimes to several seconds.
- Combining Night mode with Portrait adds even more processing time and risk of motion blur.
- Macworld suggests Apple may be responding to casual users who don’t understand why some photos take longer to capture or come out blurry when they move.
Image quality trade‑offs
- In Macworld’s side‑by‑side tests, older iPhones produced brighter but noisier Night mode Portraits.
- Portraits from iPhone 17 Pro without Night mode look darker but cleaner, with less noise and more detail — and can be captured at higher resolutions (up to 24MP) rather than the 12MP limit imposed by Night mode. ^[13]
Hardware and sensor layout changes
- BGR points out that the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera island and LiDAR/flash positioning differ from previous generations. It speculates that reliability or calibration issues in the new layout could make Night mode Portraits harder to support at Apple’s quality bar. ^[14]

Again, these are theories, not confirmed reasons. What we can say confidently is that the removal appears intentional, documented, and consistent across devices — not an intermittent software bug. ^[15]

How today’s coverage (Dec 4, 2025) moved the story forward

The story started with forum posts and niche threads, but it’s now firmly mainstream:

Macworld (Dec 3)
Performed controlled comparisons between older Pro iPhones and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, confirming that Night mode + Portrait still works on older models running iOS 26, but is missing on the 17 Pro lineup. ^[16]
9to5Mac (Dec 3)
Reported that Apple’s Night mode support document lists every Pro model from the 12 Pro to 16 Pro as supporting Night mode Portraits — but not the iPhone 17 Pro — calling it a “highly unusual” regression for a Pro device. ^[17]
BGR (Dec 3)
Framed the change as Apple “silently dropping” Night mode Portraits on iPhone 17 Pro, highlighting the contradiction between the phone’s advanced hardware and the missing software feature. It also noted that the same support page appears updated for 17‑series Night mode selfies and time‑lapse, reinforcing the idea that this is a deliberate omission, not an oversight. ^[18]
The Mac Observer (Dec 4)
Today’s piece is the clearest statement yet: “iPhone 17 Pro removes Night mode portraits, confirmed by Apple.” It distills forum reports, the Apple support page, and Macworld’s testing into a simple buyer warning — if you rely on Night mode portraits, upgrading to 17 Pro could be a downgrade. ^[19]

Meanwhile, Mac Observer’s separate article on the iOS 26.2 Release Candidate, released yesterday, lists UI and app improvements but doesn’t mention restoring Night mode Portraits — further suggesting that no fix is imminent in that update. ^[20]

Real‑world impact: who should actually care?

For many casual users, the change may go unnoticed. Reddit commenters are already pointing out that Night mode Portraits weren’t widely used, and some didn’t even know the option existed. ^[21]

However, certain groups will feel the difference:

Portrait shooters in dim venues
If you regularly shoot portraits in bars, restaurants, theaters, or night streets and relied on Night mode Portrait on a 12–16 Pro, the 17 Pro will feel more limited.
Parents and pet owners
Kids and animals already move a lot; removing Night mode Portrait may actually reduce motion blur in some cases, but you’ll have to live with darker images or add your own lighting.
Content creators and wedding / event shooters who leaned on Night mode Portrait
These users may be better off sticking with or buying an iPhone 16 Pro for now if Night mode Portraits are a key part of their workflow — especially since older Pro models still retain the feature under iOS 26. ^[22]

Workarounds for iPhone 17 Pro owners

If you already own an iPhone 17 Pro, all is not lost. You can’t truly recreate Night mode Portraits, but you can optimize your low‑light portraits with a few smart tweaks.

1. Decide upfront: brightness vs background blur

Because the phone won’t let you combine the two, treat your choice as a creative decision:

If capturing the moment is priority (group shot at a party, kids moving):
- Stick to standard Photo mode with Night mode enabled.
- You’ll get a brighter shot with less risk of motion blur, but no artificial background blur.
If creamy background blur matters more (posed shots, portraits with time to spare):
- Switch to Portrait mode.
- Move your subject closer to available light (window, lamp, shop sign) to compensate for the lack of Night mode.

2. Use “Preserve Settings” to control Night mode behavior

iOS still lets you control whether Night mode automatically turns itself back on between shots:

Go to Settings → Camera → Preserve Settings.
Enable Night Mode.
In the Camera app, manually disable Night mode for a shot when you don’t want the long exposure.

With Preserve Settings enabled, your “Night mode off” choice persists instead of resetting to Auto. This gives you more predictable behavior when switching between Photo and Portrait in low light. ^[23]

On iPhone 17 Pro, this won’t bring Night mode back into Portrait mode, but it does help you:

Take quicker, darker shots in Photo mode (with depth data in many cases)
Avoid unexpected long exposures when you’re trying to capture fast‑moving scenes

3. Take a bright Photo first, then add blur later (when possible)

Even though Night mode Portraits are gone, the automatic depth‑capture introduced on 15 Pro still applies in many scenarios on the 17 Pro when Night mode isn’t active. That means: ^[24]

Shoot in Photo mode in moderately low light where Night mode doesn’t trigger.
In the Photos app, open the image and tap the Portrait button (if available) to apply background blur later.

This doesn’t help in extremely dark scenes where Night mode kicks in (those shots won’t have depth data), but in borderline lighting it can still give you a “pseudo Night Portrait” look without the full Night mode pipeline.

4. Add your own light

It’s not glamorous, but adding even a small amount of extra light goes a long way when Night mode Portraits are gone:

Use a dim continuous LED light, candle, or screen from another phone rather than a harsh flash.
Position your subject near neon signs, café windows, or other interesting ambient light sources.
Remember that the iPhone 17 Pro’s larger sensors and improved processing still outperform older iPhones in many low‑light situations, even without Night mode Portraits. ^[25]

5. Consider third‑party apps for artificial background blur

Apps that apply background blur purely through subject detection (without depth data) won’t match the precision of true Portrait depth maps, but they can approximate the look for social media. Just keep expectations realistic — they’re a workaround, not a replacement.

Should you skip the iPhone 17 Pro because of this?

That depends entirely on how much you relied on Night mode Portraits:

If you rarely shoot portraits in very dark conditions:
The iPhone 17 Pro still offers meaningful camera upgrades — triple 48MP rear sensors, improved low‑light processing, better telephoto reach, and Apple Intelligence features — which may outweigh the loss of Night mode Portraits. ^[26]
If Night mode Portraits are essential to your photography:
Today’s coverage makes it clear that upgrading from a 12–16 Pro to a 17 Pro will remove a key capability you currently enjoy. For that specific use case, the 17 Pro is a downgrade, and it may make more sense to hold onto or buy a discounted 16 Pro while we see whether Apple ever reverses course. ^[27]

For now, there’s no evidence in iOS 26.2 RC or public statements that Apple plans to restore Night mode Portraits via software update, though 9to5Mac speculates that user pressure could eventually push the company to reconsider. ^[28]

FAQ: iPhone 17 Pro and Night mode Portraits

Does the iPhone 17 Pro have Night mode Portraits?
No. On iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, Night mode and Portrait mode can no longer be combined, and Apple’s Night mode support page does not list these phones as supporting Night mode Portrait. ^[29]

Which iPhones still support Night mode Portrait as of December 2025?
According to Apple’s documentation, Night mode Portrait remains available on iPhone 12 Pro / Pro Max, 13 Pro / Pro Max, 14 Pro / Pro Max, 15 Pro / Pro Max, and 16 Pro / Pro Max. ^[30]

Is the missing Night mode Portrait on iPhone 17 Pro a bug?
All current evidence points to a deliberate change. The feature is consistently absent on iPhone 17 Pro models, Apple’s support article omits them from the Night mode Portrait list, and multiple outlets have confirmed the behavior. Apple has not called it a bug. ^[31]

Can an iOS update bring Night mode Portraits back to iPhone 17 Pro?
It’s technically possible, but there’s no sign of it yet. The iOS 26.2 Release Candidate focuses on UI tweaks and app features, and Apple has not announced any camera feature restorations. 9to5Mac notes that strong user feedback might influence future updates, but that’s speculative at this point. ^[32]

Should I upgrade from iPhone 16 Pro to iPhone 17 Pro if I love Night mode Portraits?
If Night mode Portraits are central to your low‑light workflow, upgrading right now means giving up a feature you rely on. If you mostly shoot in decent light or care more about the 17 Pro’s new hardware and Apple Intelligence features, the trade‑off may be acceptable — but it’s a conscious compromise. ^[33]

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