I am experiencing a severe Photos Search/People indexing problem on a Mac Studio running the final release of macOS 27. I first reported this during the macOS 27 beta cycle and have provided extensive diagnostics and updates through Feedback Assistant. Feedback: FB24521305 Resolution: Open Recent Similar Reports: More than 10 My iCloud Photos library contains approximately 164,000 items and is synchronized between my Mac, iPhone, and iPad. The photographs themselves are present on the Mac, and newly taken photographs synchronize normally. However, Photos Search and People & Pets on the Mac remain severely incomplete. Direct searches of the same synchronized library currently give: Frequently photographed Person A Mac Photos Search: 3 results Mac People & Pets: 6 images iPhone Photos Search: 2,390 results The 3 images returned by Mac Search are different from the 6 images in the People & Pets album. Person B Mac Photos Search: 0 results Mac People & Pets: 2 images iPhone Photos Search: 66 results Location search — Costa Rica Mac Photos Search: 37 results iPhone Photos Search: 350 results After installation of macOS 27 final, Mac Photos Search briefly showed substantial rebuilding activity. For example, a search for "2026" increased from 566 results to 4,455, and "Deer" increased from 79 to 908. Searches that had previously displayed an indefinitely spinning progress indicator also began returning results. However, that apparent rebuilding has not progressed to completion. Nearly two weeks later, People recognition/association remains extremely incomplete, location Search remains incomplete, and the Mac and iPhone return dramatically different results from the same synchronized iCloud Photos library. I have left Photos running for extended periods to allow background analysis to complete. Previous controlled tests also established that the Mac receives photographs and their correct date/time metadata and can index some newly received assets almost immediately. At this point the evidence appears to indicate a problem with the Mac Photos analysis/Search/People indexing process rather than iCloud Photos synchronization or missing assets. Could an Apple engineer please confirm whether FB24521305 has been routed to the appropriate Photos engineering team? I would be happy to provide additional diagnostics or perform specific controlled tests if requested.

“Can iphone duo make it easier for a creator to record themselves while simultaneoulsy seeing or controlling what the other camera is capturing“???

On iOS 26.6.2, Live Photos fail to save. This issue does not occur on iOS 27.0 RC. Devices Experiencing Issues iPhone 17 (iOS 26.6.2) iPhone 17 Pro MAX(iOS 26.6.2) iPad mini 5th generation (iPadOS 26.6.2) and might be others... Description 1. For HEVC+MOV, the Livephoto is saved successfully. If you write the code exactly as shown in the official instruction the Live Photo will be saved successfully. However, the reference code uses a combination of HEVC and MOV. let photoSettings = AVCapturePhotoSettings(format: [AVVideoCodecKey: AVVideoCodecType.hevc]) 2. For JPEG+MOV, Livephoto saving fails. Some users prefer JPEG files, which offer high compatibility. Therefore, we'll modify the code as follows. let photoSettings = AVCapturePhotoSettings(format: [AVVideoCodecKey: AVVideoCodecType.jpeg]) In this case, the AVFoundation recording process itself succeeds, but when attempting to save the result to the photo library using PhotoKit, it fails with the following error. error:The operation couldn’t be completed. (PHPhotosErrorDomain error 3302.) key: __NSCFString = "_PHResourceUrlsErrorKey" Here is the code for saving Live Photos. (This is exactly the same as the code in the official reference.) PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges({ let creationRequest = PHAssetCreationRequest.forAsset() creationRequest.addResource(with: .photo, data: stillImageData, options: nil) let options = PHAssetResourceCreationOptions() options.shouldMoveFile = true creationRequest.addResource(with: .pairedVideo, fileURL: livePhotoMovieURL, options: options) }) { success, error in // Handle completion. } We've posted to Apple Feedback with Sysdiagnose. FB24760461

I save stills and videos with PHAssetCreationRequest. I do not set originalFilename. Photos saved with addResource(with: .photo, data:) show originalFilename values like IMG_XXXX.HEIC in PHAssetResource. Videos saved with addResource(with: .video, fileURL:) from AVCaptureMovieFileOutput keep the temp file name (a UUID .mov). The docs say that if originalFilename is omitted, Photos infers a name from the file URL when one is provided, otherwise it generates a name. Is there a supported way for a third-party app to get a system IMG_XXXX original filename for a newly saved video? Thank you.

In my app I get a UIImage for a PHAsset via PHImageManager.requestImage(for:targetSize:contentMode:options:resultHandler:). I directly display that image in a UIImageView that has preferredImageDynamicRange set to .high. The problem is I do not see the high dynamic range. I see the HDRDemo23 sample code uses PhotosPicker to get a UIImage from Data through UIImageReader whose config enables prefersHighDynamicRange. Is there a way to support HDR when using the Photos APIs to request display images? And is there support for PHLivePhoto displayed in PHLivePhotoView retrieved via PHImageManager.requestLivePhoto?

It's unclear if this is a bug or a new feature but I have noticed that my photos starting coming out looking more stylised than expected and worked out that it was because photographic styles were being applied even tho I was taking photos through a third party app. Is there a way to disable this behaviour if it is intended? I've raised a feedback report #FB23632714 Photographic Styles [OFF] Photographic Styles [ON] My settings:

Hi Apple Developer Community, I’m preparing an iOS app called Titech for App Review. The app is intended for clinic/business users and provides preliminary AI-generated cosmetic analysis and preview guidance based on user-submitted face photos. The app is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment decisions, and users are told to consult qualified experts before acting on any recommendation. We have received multiple App Review rejections and I would appreciate guidance on whether our current approach is aligned with Apple’s expectations. Current issues raised by App Review: Guideline 2.1 - Information Needed Apple asked for more information about how the app uses face data, including: What face data is collected How it is used, stored, retained, deleted, and shared Whether it is shared with third parties Where this is explained in the privacy policy Exact privacy policy text about face data We updated the app and privacy policy to explain that: Users voluntarily upload front, left-side, and right-side face photos Photos may be sent to our backend and processed by OpenAI through the OpenAI API Face ID/fingerprint data is not collected Uploaded face photos and generated preview images are deleted after the active session ends The app does not sell face data or share it with advertisers/data brokers Guideline 2.1(b) - Information Needed Apple asked about the business model and whether users access paid content. Our app does not currently include paid digital content, subscriptions, credits, or in-app purchases. Access is controlled by a registration code for clinic/business users and App Review only. Guideline 2.3.3 - Accurate Metadata Apple said the screenshots did not show the current version of the app in use. We replaced the screenshots with updated iPhone and iPad screenshots showing: Clinic access Consent and face-data disclosure Photo capture AI-generated analysis Recommendations Side effects page Generated preview flow My questions: For apps using user-submitted face photos with a third-party AI API, is it enough to clearly disclose OpenAI processing in the consent screen and privacy policy, or should this also be repeated elsewhere in the app flow? For face photos that are deleted after the active session ends, what wording does Apple generally expect around retention and deletion? Since the app is clinic/business access only and does not sell digital content, is a registration code acceptable if we clearly explain that it is not a paid digital unlock? Are there any additional App Review notes or privacy policy sections that developers usually include for apps involving face photos and AI-generated preliminary recommendations? For metadata, should the screenshots avoid login/consent screens entirely, or is it acceptable to include them as long as most screenshots show core app functionality? Any advice from developers who have passed review with apps involving user-uploaded face photos, AI analysis, or cosmetic/health-adjacent recommendations would be very helpful. Thank you.

I have an iOS app that I want to publish to the Mac App Store as a Catalyst app, but I noticed a situation where the app can't be closed and has to be force quit. The problem happens if the user has 0 photos in their Photo Library, and hits "Limited Access" on the request authorization prompt (In my case PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization(for: .readWrite). Since the popup is a system prompt, I can't manually add a close button to it. I tried wrapping it in a view with a close button but the popup always shows up over any view I'm presenting within my app. If anyone has a workaround that would be greatly appreciated!

I've been trying to implement the newly touted high resolution capture at 24MP from WWDC26: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2026/304/ However it seems it's only possible to capture 24mp photos if you enable autoDeferredPhotoDelivery? This is quite frustrating as my app wants to run the image output through shaders and effects before saving. Is there a way round this limiation?

Hi everyone, I’m working on a camera app as a learning project and have reached a point where I’m trying to better understand the intended architecture for Live Photo capture using AVCapturePhotoOutput. The app currently supports: Live Photos Depth data Location metadata Multiple lens presets on a virtual multi-camera device Everything is working well, but I’m now thinking about capture throughput and rapid shutter presses. Right now, my implementation is fairly conservative. I wait for a Live Photo capture to finish processing and importing before allowing another capture. This is reliable, but it doesn’t feel particularly camera-like when compared to Apple’s Camera app. One observation from field testing caught my attention: I took a Live Photo, immediately switched lenses, then took another Live Photo. When I viewed the first Live Photo later, the movie portion included the lens-switching actions that occurred after I pressed the shutter. That made me realize that I may be thinking about the capture lifecycle incorrectly. My questions are: When using AVCapturePhotoOutput with Live Photos enabled, what is the earliest point at which a capture can be considered “safely secured”? Is it expected that apps wait for PhotoKit import to complete before accepting another Live Photo capture request? If supporting rapid sequential shutter presses, is the recommended approach to queue capture requests and process them one at a time? Are there any best practices around lens changes or camera reconfiguration while a Live Photo is still being captured or processed? I’m not looking for details about the implementation of Apple’s Camera app. I’m mainly trying to understand the recommended approach when working with the public AVFoundation APIs. I’d appreciate any guidance, documentation references, or examples from developers who have worked through similar problems. Thanks!

version: iOS 17+ When requesting Photo Library access on iOS, the system displays a standard permission dialog. I just wanna save a image to user's photo library. Is it possible to replace or customize this system permission popup with a fully custom-designed UI? If customization is not allowed, is the recommended approach to first present a custom explanatory popup or screen and then trigger the system permission dialog?

Providing a response and feedback to this: https://origin-devforums.apple.com/forums/thread/827311 and https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/827043?page=1#889020022 I have a created a feedback/bug report with ID FB22823733 Feedback Report: I have created a feedback report as well like recommended with this ID: FB22823733, with more elaborate images of my implementation, also see here More clarity: Yes, this is for an iOS app(iOS 18+) but testing and debugging on Xcode(MacOS 15.7.7, M4 24GB), which traps or hangs on getting to [PhotogrammetrySample] even while using the lazy sequence and the contentsOf as specified in your docs. I also tried using the PhotogrammetrySession folder run but its still failed with : CoreOC.PhotogrammetrySession.Error 6 and I understand to mean alignment failed. What can be done or do you guys expose any functions that can be used to aid, or handle these internally, can't find any internally. The ObjectMasks are actually segmentation masks from an ML algorithm . To replicate try calling PhotogrammetrySession(input: [PhotogrammetrySample]) with contentsOf as captured on your documentation, even with like 30 image set or is there something I'm missing.

vesion: iOS 17+ When requesting Photo Library access on iOS, the system displays a standard permission dialog. And I just wanna save a image to user's photo library. Is it possible to replace or customize this system permission popup with a fully custom-designed UI? If customization is not allowed, is the recommended approach to first present a custom explanatory popup or screen and then trigger the system permission dialog?

I want to know more about the latest technology from Apple and interesting hardware for me to know about.

I'm developing a PHBackgroundResourceUploadExtension and finding it difficult to debug because the system controls when the extension launches. Current experience: The extension starts at unpredictable times (anywhere from 1 minute to several hours after photos are added) By the time I attach the debugger, the upload may have already completed or failed Breakpoints in init() or early lifecycle methods are often missed Questions: Is there a way to force-launch the extension during development (similar to how we can manually trigger Background App Refresh in Xcode)? Are there any launch arguments or environment variables that put the extension in a debug/eager mode? I tried taking photos/videos, but this doesn't trigged app extension in all cases. Any tips for improving the debug cycle would be greatly appreciated. Environment: iOS 26, Xcode 18

I am requesting technical clarification and a formal feature addition regarding the availability of per-frame calibration data for Standard RAW captures on iPhone 17 and 17 Pro. The Technical Gap: Currently, AVCaptureVideoDataOutput provides a direct path to the AVCameraCalibrationData object, allowing real-time access to the Intrinsic Matrix, Radial/Tangential Distortion coefficients, and Lens Shading Maps. However, this same level of geometric transparency is missing from the AVCapturePhoto RAW/ProRAW delegate. While standard RAW files contain some metadata, they lack the physics sidecar required for precision manual alignment. Because the lens assembly in the iPhone 17 Pro is dynamic shifted constantly by Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and high-speed Voice Coil Motors (VCM) for focus a static or factor calibration is mathematically insufficient for high-precision workflows. The Problem: Without the 1:1 hardware state at the millisecond of exposure, we cannot perform accurate geometric reconstruction from RAW stills. We are forced to choose between the high dynamic range of a RAW sensor dump and the geometric precision of the video pipeline. Final Questions: Is there a documented, supported method to force the inclusion of the AVCameraCalibrationData object or a raw metadata sidecar in the AVCapturePhoto workflow? If not, can Apple provide parity between the Video and Photo APIs so that the "rawest" data (RAW) is accompanied by the "rawest" physics (Calibration Data)? Providing the pixels without the lens geometry limits the utility of the RAW format for any technical workflow requiring sub-pixel geometric integrity.

I’m curious what framework and rendering technique you’re using for the photo album’s grid zoom in and out. Why is it so incredibly smooth? I can’t seem to pull that off 🤦‍♂️

I am working on a computational photography research project involving multi-exposure HDR reconstruction using Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW captures. I would like to clarify the radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and the availability of Bayer RAW capture through AVFoundation. My questions are: On current iPhone Pro devices, is it possible for third-party apps to capture and export true Bayer-pattern RAW DNG files through AVFoundation, rather than Apple ProRAW linear DNG files? If so, which availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes correspond to Bayer RAW, and what device or format restrictions apply? Apple ProRAW appears to be demosaiced and computationally processed, and may include multi-frame fusion. Is the decoded ProRAW image intended to be radiometrically linear and scene-referred? For a bracketed ProRAW sequence captured with fixed ISO, white balance, lens, and focus, but different exposure times, can one assume that the decoded linear pixel values Y_i(p) satisfy an exposure-proportional model in non-saturated regions, such as Y_i(p) ≈ t_i R(p), across brackets? This question is about radiometric consistency for algorithmic use, not about visual editing or tone mapping. Thank you for your help.

Markup Tool: Support for persistent tool presets (color, stroke, fill settings) I use Markup heavily for work — up to 20 images per day, always with the same settings: red arrow or rectangle, no fill, specific stroke width. The problem has two parts: Part 1 – Markup resets everything: Every time Markup is opened, all settings reset: tool, color, fill, stroke width. This means 3–4 manual steps per image, adding up to 80 unnecessary interactions per day. Part 2 – The default red is unusable: The red in Apple’s color palette is muted and too pale for clear, high-contrast annotations. I have to open the color wheel every single time to manually select a proper, vivid red. The copy/duplicate workaround only helps within one image — as soon as a new photo or screenshot is opened, everything starts over from scratch. Markup has no memory between different images. Switching to a third-party annotation app is not a solution — the entire advantage of Markup is its native integration directly within the Photos app, without switching apps. And Markup cannot be configured in depth through Shortcuts either — color, fill, and stroke width are not controllable there. The attached images: Image 1 shows the entry point in the Photos app. Image 2 shows Markup open with the current color palette. The blue-outlined fields do not indicate colors to be replaced — they mark the position where personally configured tool presets should appear: not individual colors, but fully pre-configured tools with color, stroke width, and fill setting already saved, ready to use with a single tap. My suggestion: Tool presets — configure once, saved permanently, available directly in the Markup toolbar. No need to re-configure color, fill, or stroke width for every new image. iOS already remembers last-used settings in many areas: camera mode, emojis, colors in Notes, Pages, and Keynote. Markup behaves as if it’s being opened for the first time, every time. This inconsistency costs me measurable time every single day.

I am working on a computational photography research project involving multi-exposure HDR reconstruction using Bayer RAW and Apple ProRAW captures. I would like to clarify the radiometric interpretation of Apple ProRAW and the availability of Bayer RAW capture through AVFoundation. My questions are: 1.On current iPhone Pro devices, is it possible for third-party apps to capture and export true Bayer-pattern RAW DNG files through AVFoundation, rather than Apple ProRAW linear DNG files? If so, which availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes correspond to Bayer RAW, and what device or format restrictions apply? 2.Apple ProRAW appears to be demosaiced and computationally processed, and may include multi-frame fusion. Is the decoded ProRAW image intended to be radiometrically linear and scene-referred? 3.For a bracketed ProRAW sequence captured with fixed ISO, white balance, lens, and focus, but different exposure times, can one assume that the decoded linear pixel values Y_i(p) satisfy an exposure-proportional model in non-saturated regions, such as Y_i(p) ≈ t_i R(p), across brackets? This question is about radiometric consistency for algorithmic use, not about visual editing or tone mapping. Thank you for your help.