Apple Could Use 'Broadcast Quality' iPhone Cameras to Stream WWDC 2020 Sessions

"American Idol" is one of many shows to be on hiatus amid the ongoing health crisis, and last month we learned that filming is being done remotely using iPhones to finish out the current season.

iphone11protriplelens
According to a new TechCrunch article, the home studio rigs provided by ABC to "American Idol" hosts and contestants comprise a three-camera setup, including three iPhone 11 Pros, a tripod and a ring light, with production teams helping with camera setup and editing at a safe distance from home.

Apple also provided a statement for the article, saying its iPhones offer a novel portable solution for professionals to deliver "broadcast quality" video, despite the stay-at-home restrictions.

We know that people are relying on their favorite shows while staying at home, and we are happy to be a part of that process with the team at American Idol. iPhone offers a unique solution to deliver broadcast quality video, in the palm of your hand, while keeping production staff and on-air talent safe and in their homes.

Apple's consumer equipment has been used before to produce TV shows and other broadcasts from home. For example, well-known talk show host Conan O'Brien shoots his show from home using an ‌iPhone‌, while all of his guests use Skype and the rest of his crew is working from home.

Apple itself is planning to use iPhones for streaming broadcasts at WWDC 2020, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, although the extent of this reliance on iPhones is likely to be limited to developer sessions. Expect Apple's keynote presentation and other prominent broadcasts to involve more professional studio rigs and tracking equipment.

Apple's virtual WWDC event kicks off next month and will be hosted in the Apple Developer app and the Apple Developer website. The event will be free for all developers, and Apple's keynote is likely to fall on on June 22, when WWDC begins.

Popular Stories

top stories 2025 12 20

Top Stories: iOS 26.3 Beta, Major Apple Leaks, and More

Saturday December 20, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd think things would be slowing down heading into the holidays, but this week saw a whirlwind of Apple leaks and rumors while Apple started its next cycle of betas following last week's release of iOS 26.2 and related updates. This week also saw the release of a new Apple Music integration with ChatGPT, so read on below for all the details on this week's biggest stories! Top Stories i...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
ios 18 security update

Don't Want to Upgrade to iOS 26? Here's How to Stay on iOS 18 [Update: Now Unavailable]

Friday December 19, 2025 10:37 am PST by
Since the beginning of December, Apple has been pushing iPhone users who opted to stay on iOS 18 to install iOS 26 instead. Apple started by making the iOS 18 upgrades less visible, and has now transitioned to making new iOS 18 updates unavailable on any device capable of running iOS 26. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, Apple is no longer offering new versions of iOS 18, even though there...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple's 2026 and 2027 Product Roadmap: Foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro, M5 Macs, and More

Tuesday December 16, 2025 4:42 pm PST by
There has been a whirlwind of rumors over the last few days, sourced from leaked internal software designed for the iPhone and the Mac, and news sites like The Information. Below, we have a quick recap of everything we've heard this week, which serves as a guide to Apple's product plans in 2026 and beyond. We've organized the info by likely release date, though there are some products that...
iPhone Chips

Apple Clings to Samsung as RAM Prices Soar

Monday December 22, 2025 6:17 am PST by
Apple is significantly increasing its reliance on Samsung for iPhone memory as component prices surge, according to The Korea Economic Daily. Apple is said to be expanding the share of iPhone memory it sources from Samsung due to rapidly rising memory prices. The shift is expected to result in Samsung supplying roughly 60% to 70% of the low-power DRAM used in the iPhone 17, compared with a...
generic tracking prompt orange

Apple Hit With Supersized Fine in Italy Over an iPhone Privacy Feature

Monday December 22, 2025 7:47 am PST by
Italy's Competition Authority (AGCM) has imposed a €98.6 million ($116 million) fine on Apple over its App Tracking Transparency feature. Since the release of iOS 14.5 in April 2021, Apple has required apps to ask for permission before tracking a user's activity across other apps and websites for personalized advertising, as part of a feature named App Tracking Transparency. If a user...

Top Rated Comments

Unami Avatar
73 months ago
Just no. "broadcast quality" would mean a 422 codec in HD, far less compression and a lot of other things, from the technical sides alone.

Then there's hardware requirements (4-8 audio Tracks, nice Lenses,...).

Iphones have good cameras for a phone, but they don't hold a candle to TV cameras or even DSLRs. Yet.

There's a reason a decent camera lens cost's more than an iphone. Computational photography and cheaper storage will probably close that gap someday but not that soon.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thelookingglass Avatar
73 months ago

High quality, indeed.

Incidentally, I just sold my Canon DSLR as it was very much redundant since the iPhone 11 Pro. Not that this was the expected outcome, by the way.
Were you just not using it much for photography? There’s a clear difference in quality between the iPhone and DSLRs, even on the newest iPhones.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Edsel Avatar
73 months ago
"Broadcast quality"?



Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mozumder Avatar
73 months ago
OK Apple now do this for the front-facing iPhone cameras and Mac cameras. We really need higher quality front cameras, as good as the rear cameras, in the age of video conferencing. This includes larger lenses, OIS, larger pixels, and high-output, high-CRI LEDs.

More people are going to use the front camera than the rear camera.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PortoMavericks Avatar
73 months ago
I own a Canon SL2, entry level and at this point a bit old. There’s no way to compare.

Even more if we’re talking about the subject of the thread: video. You‘re simply not going to get a shallow depth of field out of the iPhone while it can be easily achieved with a Canon 50mm ($120?) lens.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DanBig Avatar
73 months ago
If I was Apple... I would create a bunch of remote kits! Basically, a pair of iPhones with tripods and one ring light and one panel light, one iPhone with a stabilizer handle for moving about, two iPad's one as a prompter with a tripod setup, the second iPad setup as the video switch and editing station for all of the feeds. With all of the needed apps setup on the iPhone's & iPad's.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)