iPhone 17 Pro supports 8K video recording leak is incorrectly reported

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Several articles have surfaced online sourcing a leak about Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro, with the reports citing a leak that claims the 17 Pro will support 8K video recording. These reports are citing a mistranslation.

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Firstly, here's the rumor. The Weibo-based account Fixed Focus Digital posted on Wednesday that the iPhone 17 Pro is "something to look forward to," adding Apple has implemented a "special process" by using a mixture of "aluminium and glass" to create a gradient presumably for the backplate of the device. The account also stated the following: "If you have 8K in hand, you should look forward to the iPhone 17 series even more." According to comments by other accounts, that last sentence was mistranslated and taken as the iPhone 17 series will come with support for 8K video recording. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

According to the comments, the "8K" is actually Chinese internet slang for ¥8000 RMB, which is approximately $1,100 to $1,200 USD. So, the user is referring to the price of the device, not the camera capabilities. This means the sentence should read like this, "If you're someone who's holding onto a phone worth ¥8000 (or paid that much), you should definitely look forward to the iPhone 17 series."

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As for 8K recording on the upcoming iPhone 17 series, it's been a feature requested for quite some time, but hardware limitations with the telephoto lens (12MP), and Apple seemingly opting for optimization and seamless switching between each of the cameras without a drop in resolution have prevented its adoption. More specifically, the iPhone 16 Pro features a 48MP sensor on two of the three cameras, with the Telephoto being 12MP. Since 8K recording is around 33MP it means two of the cameras are theoretically capable of 8K video recording, but the 12MP Telephoto isn't.

However, rumors indicate that Apple is planning on upgrading the Telephoto camera to a 48MP sensor, meaning all three will be capable of 8K video recording, and users will be able to seamlessly switch between each camera without a reduction in quality. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a known Apple insider and industry analyst with an incredible track record of knowing the inner workings at Apple, penned a report in February that stated Apple is shifting its focus from improving the camera's photo-taking abilities to improving its video recording capabilities.

The Bloomberg reporter stated that one of Apple's goals for 2025 is to get content creators, such as vloggers, to move away from standalone cameras, such as DLSRs, and make the switch to iPhone. Moreover, Gurman wrote we should expect Apple to be putting a marketing focus on these new capabilities when they are unveiled in September.

So, it's entirely possible the upcoming iPhone 17 line-up may feature 8K video recording, but the above leaker isn't suggesting that.