iOS 17 Camera App Can Help Straighten Your Shooting Angle

The iOS Camera app offers a few optional settings to help you line up your shots, most notably a Grid that can be overlaid on the screen to help apply the rule of thirds.

ios 17 collage
And for the last few years, the Grid mode has included a somewhat-hidden leveling feature for top-down photos, popping up a floating crosshair to help make sure you're lined up properly above your subject.

With iOS 17, Apple is enhancing the camera leveling functionality, separating it out from the Grid mode to its own option and expanding it to include a horizontal level for more traditional straight-on photos.

ios 17 camera level no
Turning the Level option on will pop up a broken horizontal line on the screen when your iPhone senses you're lining up for a straight-on shot and you tilt your device slightly out of horizontal. The line appears white while your phone is out of level and then turns yellow once you achieve a level orientation to indicate success.

ios 17 camera level
The leveling pop-up only appears for a brief time and only within a narrow range of angles close to horizontal (in either portrait or landscape orientation), so it's not intrusively popping up when you're intentionally trying to take a photo at an angle.

ios 17 camera level setting
The new option appears to be off by default if you don't have Grid mode turned on before upgrading, but is on by default if you're already a Grid mode user. The option can be toggled in the Camera section of the Settings app.

The new Level feature is just one of a number of enhancements to photos in iOS 17, including one-tap cropping, pet recognition, animated sticker creation, and Visual Look Up for recipes from photos.

(Thanks, Jake!)

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These 100 New Features and Changes for Your iPhone

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple has announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes a long list of new features and changes for iPhones. The first iOS 26 developer beta is now available, and a public beta will follow next month. The update will be released later this year. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. Below, we have provided a high-level overview of 100 new features and changes ...

Top Rated Comments

psxp Avatar
26 months ago
this will be a handy feature
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jezbd1997 Avatar
26 months ago
we need a camera app redesign. it’s been how long now. app feels like a toy with the slider and how many times has everyone accidentally changed the mode
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seinman Avatar
26 months ago
I love the people like “OMG stolen from [whatever] software!!!!!1111~~” as if leveling indicators haven’t been part of photography and built into cameras for decades. I had a film SLR camera in the late 90s that had a light that came on when I was holding it level.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aroom Avatar
26 months ago
this is a good feature available in VSCO since 10 years
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
svish Avatar
26 months ago
Will be very useful. These small improvements are really good.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cheesehead Dave Avatar
26 months ago
Nice to see. Halide's camera app does this, and there's a very subtle haptic tap when you're leveled out.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)