Apple is using the iPhone 17 Pro to change your mind about what a live broadcast camera could be

What’s happening on the field?

Image credit — Apple TV+

An iPhone 17 Pro is now one of the ‘professional cameras’ being used in a live game broadcast. | Image credit — Apple TV+

For creators, it’s another proof point that the barrier to high-quality production is lower than ever. For Apple and MLB, it allows for creative, intimate camera angles that would otherwise be difficult or impossible, adding to their growing list of broadcast enhancements like drone shots and umpire cams.

Is this the future of broadcasting?

Image credit — Apple TV+

Honestly, this is genuinely cool and a very clever move. While an iPhone isn’t going to replace the massive telephoto cameras tracking fly balls anytime soon, its potential for supplemental angles is undeniable.

I’m personally very curious to see how the footage holds up tonight, although, in reality, we shouldn’t be worried at all. A little unknown tidbit is that this is actually not the first time Apple has pulled this off. We learned that during last Friday’s broadcast of the Giants and Dodgers game, with Clayton Kershaw’s last home regular season start, iPhones were used in the game broadcast. These are iPhones that were stacked up against professional gear worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet iPhones were used to capture that special moment. What a time to be alive!

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