Apple has acknowledged a camera issue in the soon-to-launch iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air models, describing it as a “very rare” bug that can cause parts of photos to black out or display white squiggly lines under certain lighting conditions.
The glitch was first reported during a review of the iPhone Air, when photos taken in a concert setting showed anomalies: about one in every ten shots captured near bright LED lights included portions of the image that were either obscured or distorted with weird white streaks. The problem appears when extremely bright LED displays shine directly into the camera lens.
Apple has confirmed that the issue is not widespread and is limited to specific lighting scenarios. The company has also stated that the bug is not due to a hardware defect but related to how certain visuals are processed under intense LED lighting.
With the first sale of the iPhone 17 series scheduled for this Friday, Apple has promised users that a software update is in development to address the issue. However, no exact release date for the fix has been provided.
The timing of the discovery, just ahead of the product rollout, has stirred concern among prospective buyers but remains under control according to Apple, which has reiterated that most users are unlikely to encounter the bug in typical usage.
Aside from this glitch, other feedback around the new iPhones has touched on issues such as battery performance and visual design changes. Apple has also said that iOS 26, which ships with the new devices, may lead to temporary battery drain or heating for some users immediately after setup as background tasks—such as app updates, indexing, and data migration—complete.
If you are planning to buy the new iPhone 17 Pro Max or iPhone Air, it may be worth testing photo performance in different lighting before doing important shoots. Meanwhile, Apple users can expect the promised software fix soon, and the company is likely to release a minor update close to, or possibly on, launch day to smooth over this camera issue.