Photos & Camera

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Explore technical aspects of capturing high-quality photos and videos, including exposure control, focus modes, and RAW capture options.

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Any way to trigger cameraLensSmudgeDetectionStatus to change?
Looking to implement to UI to tell the user to clean their lens in our app. Implemented the KVO for the cameraLensSmudgeDetectionStatus but I'm having issues reliably triggering it in, both in our app and the main camera app. Tried to get inventive by putting tupperware over the lens, but I think the model driving this or the LiDAR sensor might be smart enough to detect there is something close to the lens. Is there any way to trigger this change in a similar way we can trigger thermal changes in debug? Thanks.
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363
1w
PHImageManager.requestImageDataAndOrientation callback is never called
I occasionally receive reports from users that photo import from the Photos library gets stuck and the progress appears to stop indefinitely. I’m using the following APIs (code to be added): func fetchAsset(_ asset: PHAsset) { let options = PHImageRequestOptions() options.deliveryMode = .highQualityFormat options.resizeMode = .exact options.isSynchronous = false options.isNetworkAccessAllowed = true options.progressHandler = { (progress, error, stop, info) in // 🚨 never called } let requestId = PHImageManager.default().requestImageDataAndOrientation( for: asset, options: options ) { data, _, _, info in // 🚨 never called } } Due to repeated reports, I added detailed logs inside the callback closures. Based on the logs, it looks like the request keeps waiting without any callbacks being invoked — neither the progressHandler nor the completion block of requestImageDataAndOrientation is called. This happens not only with the PHImageManager approach, but also when using PHAsset with PHContentEditingInputRequestOptions — the completion callback is not invoked as well. func fetchAssetByContentEditingInput(_ asset: PHAsset) { let options = PHContentEditingInputRequestOptions() options.isNetworkAccessAllowed = true asset.requestContentEditingInput(with: nil) { contentEditingInput, info in // 🚨 never called } } I suspect this is related to iCloud Photos. Here is what I confirmed from affected users: 1. Using the native picker, iCloud download proceeds normally and the photo can be attached. However, using the PHImageManager-based approach in my app, the same photo cannot be attached. 2. Even after verifying that the photo has been fully downloaded from iCloud (e.g., by trying “Export Unmodified Originals” in the Photos app as described here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/111762, and confirming the iCloud download progress completed), the callback is still not invoked for that asset. Detailed flow for (1): • I asked the user to attach the problematic photo (the one where callbacks never fire) using the native photo picker (UIImagePickerController). • The UI showed “Downloading from iCloud” progress. • The progress advanced and the photo was attached successfully. • Then I asked the user to attach the same photo again using my custom photo picker (which uses the PHImageManager APIs mentioned above). • The progress did not advance. • No callbacks were invoked. • The operation waited indefinitely and never completed. Workaround / current behavior: • If I ask users to force-quit and relaunch the app and try again, about 6 out of 10 users can attach successfully afterward. • The remaining ~4 out of 10 users still cannot attach even after relaunching. • For users who are not fixed immediately after relaunch, it seems to resolve naturally after some time. I’ve seen similar reports elsewhere, so I’m wondering if Apple is already aware of an internal issue related to this. If there is any known information, guidance, or recommended workaround, I would appreciate it. I also logged the properties of affected PHAssets (metadata) when the issue occurs, and I can share them below if that helps troubleshooting: [size=3.91MB] [PHAssetMediaSubtype(rawValue: 528)+DepthEffect | userLibrary | (4284x5712) | adjusted=true] [size=3.91MB] [PHAssetMediaSubtype(rawValue: 528)+DepthEffect | userLibrary | (4284x5712) | adjusted=true] [size=2.72MB] [PHAssetMediaSubtype(rawValue: 16)+DepthEffect | userLibrary | (3024x4032) | adjusted=true] [size=2.72MB] [PHAssetMediaSubtype(rawValue: 16)+DepthEffect | userLibrary | (3024x4032) | adjusted=true] [size=2.49MB] [PHAssetMediaSubtype(rawValue: 16)+DepthEffect | userLibrary | (3024x4032) | adjusted=true] [size=2.49MB] [PHAssetMediaSubtype(rawValue: 16)+DepthEffect | userLibrary | (3024x4032) | adjusted=true]
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173
1w
AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer layoutSublayers invoked on background thread
Opening this question after discussing the issue in the AVCapture lab, hopefully so we can track down this issue. We've been noticing some crashes in App Store Connect caused by layoutSublayers being called on a background thread. After debugging the issue a bit we found that all calls which modified the AVCaptureSession or preview layer were indeed done on the main thread. It would be useful to see what results in AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer.updateFormatDescription being called. I've attached the crashlog below. Crash log.ips - https://developer.apple.com/forums/content/attachment/800b0dba-3477-4c5a-b56c-f4cc393b384f
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847
Jun ’25
IPadOS 17 external camera exposure
I'm developing iPad app that will be mostly dedicated for certain external camera for visually impaired people. The linux UVC api (e.g. using guvcview) allows to enable automatic exposure for the camera. IOs api "isExposureModeSupported" unfortunately returns false for any of the exposure modes. Is it a bug? Or perhaps AVFoundation doesn't support UVC exposure yet?
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649
Jul ’25
Generating Live Photo from JPG and MOV fails
I am working on an iOS application using SwiftUI where I want to convert a JPG and a MOV file to a live photo. I am utilizing the LivePhoto Class from Github for this. The JPG and MOV files are displayed correctly in my WallpaperDetailView, but I am facing issues when trying to download the live photo to the gallery and generate the Live Photo. Here is the relevant code and the errors I am encountering: Console prints: Play button should be visible Image URL fetched and set: Optional("https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/...") Video is ready to play Video downloaded to: file:///var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/.../tmp/CFNetworkDownload_7rW5ny.tmp Failed to generate Live Photo I have verified that the app has the necessary permissions to access the Photo Library. The JPEG and MOV files are successfully downloaded and can be displayed in the app. The issue seems to occur when generating the Live Photo from the downloaded files. struct WallpaperDetailView: View { var wallpaper: Wallpaper @State private var isLoading = false @State private var isImageSaved = false @State private var imageURL: URL? @State private var livePhotoVideoURL: URL? @State private var player: AVPlayer? @State private var playerViewController: AVPlayerViewController? @State private var isVideoReady = false @State private var showBuffering = false var body: some View { ZStack { if let imageURL = imageURL { GeometryReader { geometry in KFImage(imageURL) .resizable() ... } } if let playerViewController = playerViewController { VideoPlayerViewController(playerViewController: playerViewController) .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, maxHeight: .infinity) .clipped() .edgesIgnoringSafeArea(.all) } } .onAppear { PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization { status in if status == .authorized { loadImage() } else { print("User denied access to photo library") } } } private func loadImage() { isLoading = true if let imageURLString = wallpaper.imageURL, let imageURL = URL(string: imageURLString) { self.imageURL = imageURL if imageURL.scheme == "file" { self.isLoading = false print("Local image URL set: \(imageURL)") } else { fetchDownloadURL(from: imageURLString) { url in self.imageURL = url self.isLoading = false print("Image URL fetched and set: \(String(describing: url))") } } } if let livePhotoVideoURLString = wallpaper.livePhotoVideoURL, let livePhotoVideoURL = URL(string: livePhotoVideoURLString) { self.livePhotoVideoURL = livePhotoVideoURL preloadAndPlayVideo(from: livePhotoVideoURL) } else { self.isLoading = false print("No valid image or video URL") } } private func preloadAndPlayVideo(from url: URL) { self.player = AVPlayer(url: url) let playerViewController = AVPlayerViewController() playerViewController.player = self.player self.playerViewController = playerViewController let playerItem = AVPlayerItem(url: url) playerItem.preferredForwardBufferDuration = 1.0 self.player?.replaceCurrentItem(with: playerItem) ... print("Live Photo Video URL set: \(url)") } private func saveWallpaperToPhotos() { if let imageURL = imageURL, let livePhotoVideoURL = livePhotoVideoURL { saveLivePhotoToPhotos(imageURL: imageURL, videoURL: livePhotoVideoURL) } else if let imageURL = imageURL { saveImageToPhotos(url: imageURL) } } private func saveImageToPhotos(url: URL) { ... } private func saveLivePhotoToPhotos(imageURL: URL, videoURL: URL) { isLoading = true downloadVideo(from: videoURL) { localVideoURL in guard let localVideoURL = localVideoURL else { print("Failed to download video for Live Photo") DispatchQueue.main.async { self.isLoading = false } return } print("Video downloaded to: \(localVideoURL)") self.generateAndSaveLivePhoto(imageURL: imageURL, videoURL: localVideoURL) } } private func generateAndSaveLivePhoto(imageURL: URL, videoURL: URL) { LivePhoto.generate(from: imageURL, videoURL: videoURL, progress: { percent in print("Progress: \(percent)") }, completion: { livePhoto, resources in guard let resources = resources else { print("Failed to generate Live Photo") DispatchQueue.main.async { self.isLoading = false } return } print("Live Photo generated with resources: \(resources)") self.saveLivePhotoToLibrary(resources: resources) }) } private func saveLivePhotoToLibrary(resources: LivePhoto.LivePhotoResources) { LivePhoto.saveToLibrary(resources) { success in DispatchQueue.main.async { if success { self.isImageSaved = true print("Live Photo saved successfully") } else { print("Failed to save Live Photo") } self.isLoading = false } } } private func fetchDownloadURL(from gsURL: String, completion: @escaping (URL?) -> Void) { let storageRef = Storage.storage().reference(forURL: gsURL) storageRef.downloadURL { url, error in if let error = error { print("Failed to fetch image URL: \(error)") completion(nil) } else { completion(url) } } } private func downloadVideo(from url: URL, completion: @escaping (URL?) -> Void) { let task = URLSession.shared.downloadTask(with: url) { localURL, response, error in guard let localURL = localURL, error == nil else { print("Failed to download video: \(String(describing: error))") completion(nil) return } completion(localURL) } task.resume() } }```
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854
Mar ’25
PHLivePhotoEditingContext.saveLivePhoto results in AVFoundation error -11800 "The operation could not be completed" reason An unknown error occurred (-12815)
When trying to edit some Live Photos, calling PHLivePhotoEditingContext.saveLivePhoto results in the following error: Error Domain=AVFoundationErrorDomain Code=-11800 "The operation could not be completed" UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=An unknown error occurred (-12815), NSLocalizedDescription=The operation could not be completed, NSUnderlyingError=0x300d05380 {Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-12815 "(null)"}} I was able to replicate it on my device by taking a new Live Photo. Not sure what's wrong with that one specifically, not all Live Photos replicate the issue. I've submitted FB15880825 with a sysdiagnose and a Photos Diagnostics as well. Any ideas what's going on here? It's impacting multiple customers. Thanks!
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591
Jun ’25
Improving the transition between ultra wide and wide angle lens
I'm building an app which uses the camera and want to take advantage of the ability of the builtInTripleCamera and builtInDualWideCamera to automatically switch between the ultra wide and wide angle lens to focus on close up shots. It's working fine - except that the transition between the two lenses is a bit jumpy. I looked at what the native Camera app does and it seems to apply a small amount of blurring when the transition happens to help "mask" the jumpiness. How can I replicate this, or is there another way to improve the UX of switching between one lens and another automatically?
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508
Feb ’25
Attaching depth map manually
Hi, I have a problem when I want to attach my grayscale depth map image into the real image. The produced depth map doesn't have the cameraCalibration value which should responsible to align the depth data to the image. How do I align the depth map? I saw an article about it but it is not really detailed so I might be missing some process. I tried to: convert my depth map into pixel buffer create image destination ref and add the image there. add the auxData (depth map dict) This is the output: There is some black space there and my RGB image colour changes
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414
Mar ’25
Photo permission dialog not shown when iOS app runs on Mac
According to the docs: The first time your app performs an operation that requires [photo library] authorization, the system automatically and asynchronously prompts the user for it. (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit/delivering-an-enhanced-privacy-experience-in-your-photos-app) I.e. it's not necessary for the app to call PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization. This does seem to be what happens when my app runs on an iPhone or iPad; the prompt is shown. But when it runs on a Mac in "designed for iPad" mode, the permission dialog is not presented. Instead the code continues to see status == .notDetermined. That's today, on macOS 15.3. It may have worked in the past. Is anyone else seeing issues with this? Should I call requestAuthorization explicitly? (Would that actually work?)
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468
Mar ’25
Unkown photos were added to my iPhone Photo App.
There are several unknown pictures were added to my iPhone Photos. I'm developing a iOS app in swiftUI. And I'm sure that neither my developing app asked a permission to save photos to iOS device, nor these pictures are taken by myself, downloaded from the web, or synced from my iCloud. Why does this happen? Is my account or my iPhone attacked or hacked? btw, my device has turned the debug mode on, will this setting option would leads some vulnerability or some debug tools would add photos to my albums? The attached pictures are the unknown photos in my Photos App. I'v search this photo with google. And I found that many developers in stack overflow use this picture when they encounter troubles with image display or other manipulation. Where where are this photo come from? Why does it exist in my Photo albums?
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479
Feb ’25
3D scanning and 3D model with texture mapping
I am new here and would appreciate help in coding or an explanation what to use in swift for an app which will be able to capture LiDAR scanning and RGB data from taken pictures, generate a 3D mesh, and create .OBJ, .MTL, and .JPEG file set for further manipulation of 3D model. I am able to create from LiDAR scanning 3D mesh and .OBJ file but can not generate .MTL and .JPEG for a texture of 3D model.
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419
Feb ’25
PHPickerViewController update preselectedAssetIdentifiers
I am trying to recreate the iOS Messages app photo selection UI, where a PHPickerViewController is displayed half screen, with the message text field and a scrolling photo viewer on top. I have that UI mostly working, but cannot figure out how to allow a user to remove an image from my scrolling photo viewer (just like in the iOS Messages app). When the picker is initially displayed, I can show selected images using the preselectedAssetIdentifiers. However, if the user taps the "x" to remove an image from the scrolling photo viewer, there is no way that I have found to update that selection in the picker. I can dismiss/show a new picker with the animated property set to false, but that creates a very apparent bounce in the screen. Are there any ways I am missing to accomplish this? Here is what I have so far:
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422
Feb ’25
PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges raised error 3303
I want to modify the photo's exif information, which means putting the original image in through CGImageDestinationAddImageFromSource, and then adding the modified exif information to a place called properties. Here is the complete process: static func setImageMetadata(asset: PHAsset, exif: [String: Any]) { let options = PHContentEditingInputRequestOptions() options.canHandleAdjustmentData = { (adjustmentData) -> Bool in return true } asset.requestContentEditingInput(with: options, completionHandler: { input, map in guard let inputNN = input else { return } guard let url = inputNN.fullSizeImageURL else { return } let output = PHContentEditingOutput(contentEditingInput: inputNN) let adjustmentData = PHAdjustmentData(formatIdentifier: AppInfo.appBundleId(), formatVersion: AppInfo.appVersion(), data: Data()) output.adjustmentData = adjustmentData let outputURL = output.renderedContentURL guard let source = CGImageSourceCreateWithURL(url as CFURL, nil) else { return } guard let dest = CGImageDestinationCreateWithURL(outputURL as CFURL, UTType.jpeg.identifier as CFString, 1, nil) else { return } CGImageDestinationAddImageFromSource(dest, source, 0, exif as CFDictionary) let d = CGImageDestinationFinalize(dest) // d is true, and I checked the content of outputURL, image has been write correctly, it could be convert to UIImage and image is ok. PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges { let changeReq = PHAssetChangeRequest(for: asset) changeReq.contentEditingOutput = output } completionHandler: { succ, err in if !succ { print(err) // 3303 here, always! } } }) }
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405
Feb ’25
Set the capture device color space to apple log not works.
I set the device format and colorspace to Apple Log and turn off the HDR, why the movie output is still in HDR format rather than ProRes Log? Full runnable demo here: https://github.com/SpaceGrey/ColorSpaceDemo session.sessionPreset = .inputPriority // get the back camera let deviceDiscoverySession = AVCaptureDevice.DiscoverySession(deviceTypes: [.builtInWideAngleCamera], mediaType: .video, position: .back) backCamera = deviceDiscoverySession.devices.first! try! backCamera.lockForConfiguration() backCamera.automaticallyAdjustsVideoHDREnabled = false backCamera.isVideoHDREnabled = false let formats = backCamera.formats let appleLogFormat = formats.first { format in format.supportedColorSpaces.contains(.appleLog) } print(appleLogFormat!.supportedColorSpaces.contains(.appleLog)) backCamera.activeFormat = appleLogFormat! backCamera.activeColorSpace = .appleLog print("colorspace is Apple Log \(backCamera.activeColorSpace == .appleLog)") backCamera.unlockForConfiguration() do { let input = try AVCaptureDeviceInput(device: backCamera) session.addInput(input) } catch { print(error.localizedDescription) } // add output output = AVCaptureMovieFileOutput() session.addOutput(output) let connection = output.connection(with: .video)! print( output.outputSettings(for: connection) ) /* ["AVVideoWidthKey": 1920, "AVVideoHeightKey": 1080, "AVVideoCodecKey": apch,<----- prores has enabled. "AVVideoCompressionPropertiesKey": { AverageBitRate = 220029696; ExpectedFrameRate = 30; PrepareEncodedSampleBuffersForPaddedWrites = 1; PrioritizeEncodingSpeedOverQuality = 0; RealTime = 1; }] */ previewSource = DefaultPreviewSource(session: session) queue.async { self.session.startRunning() } }
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451
Mar ’25
kCGImageSourceDecodeToHDR and CGImageSourceCopyPropertiesAtIndex
Hi, I'm using Core Graphics to load a .DNG photo shot by a Leica Q3 camera. The photo is shot in portrait, however the embedded preview is rotated 90 degrees to landscape. I load the photo like this: let options = [kCGImageSourceDecodeRequest: kCGImageSourceDecodeToHDR] as CFDictionary let source = CGImageSourceCreateWithData(data as CFData, nil) let cgimage = CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex(source, 0, options) let properties = CGImageSourceCopyPropertiesAtIndex(source, 0, nil) as? [CFString : Any] When doing this I can see that the orientation property is 1 indicating that the orientation is 'Up', which it isn't. If I don't specify the kCGImageSourceDecodeToHDR option (eseentially setting options to nil) - the orientation property is 8 (rotated 90 degrees). What puzzles me is that a chang to the CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex call can have an influence on that latter call to CGImageSourceCopyPropertiesAtIndex ? I would expect these to work independently? Cheers Thomas
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470
Feb ’25
Prevent iOS from Switching Between Back Camera Lenses in getUserMedia (Safari/WebView, iOS 18)
I’m developing a hybrid app (WebView / Turbo Native) that uses getUserMedia to access the back camera for a PPG/heart rate measurement feature (the user places their finger on the camera). Problem: Even when I specify constraints like: { video: { deviceId: '...', facingMode: { exact: 'environment' }, advanced: [{ zoom: 1.0 }] }, audio: false } On iPhone 15 (iOS 18), iOS unexpectedly switches between the wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses during the measurement. This breaks the heart rate detection, and it forces the user to move their finger in the middle of the measurement. Question: Is there any way, via getUserMedia/WebRTC, to force iOS to use only the wide-angle lens and prevent automatic lens switching? I know that with AVFoundation (Swift) you can pick .builtInWideAngleCamera, but I’m hoping to avoid building a custom native layer and would prefer to stick with WebView/JavaScript if possible to save time and complexity. Any suggestions, workarounds, or updates from Apple would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot!
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422
Mar ’25
Capturing & Processing ProRaw 48MP images is slow
Hey, I have a camera app that captures a ProRaw photo and then runs a few Core Image filters before saving it to the device as a HEIC. However I'm finding that capturing at 48MP is rather slow. Testing a minimal pipeline on an iPhone 16 Pro: Shutter press => file received in output: 1.2 ~ 1.6s CIRawFilter created using photo file representation then rendered to context, without any filters: 0.8s ~ 1s Saving to device ~0.15s Is this the expected time for capturing processing? The native camera app seems to save the images within half a second. I'm using QualityPrioritization.balanced and the highest resolution available which is 48MP. Would using the CIRawFilter with the pixelBuffer from the photo output be faster? I tried it but couldn't get it to output an image. Are there any other things I could try to speed this up? Is it possible to capture at 24MP instead? Thanks, Alex
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441
Mar ’25
Create live photo throw Optional(Error Domain=PHPhotosErrorDomain Code=-1 "(null)")
I want to create a Live Photo. The project includes a .jpg image and a .mov video (2 seconds). I am sure they are correct. Two permissions in xcode have been added: Privacy - Photo Library Usage Description Privacy - Photo Library Additions Usage Description Simulate: iphone 16, ios 18.3 The codes in ContentView.swift : private func saveLivePhoto(imageURL: URL, videoURL: URL, completion: @escaping (Bool, Error?) -> Void) { PHPhotoLibrary.shared().performChanges { let creationRequest = PHAssetCreationRequest.forAsset() let options = PHAssetResourceCreationOptions() options.shouldMoveFile = false creationRequest.addResource(with: .photo, fileURL: imageURL, options: options) creationRequest.addResource(with: .pairedVideo, fileURL: videoURL, options: options) } completionHandler: { success, error in DispatchQueue.main.async { print(error) completion(success, error) } } } guard let imageURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "livephoto", withExtension: "jpeg"), let videoURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "livephoto", withExtension: "mov") else { showAlertMessage(title: "error", message: "cant find Live Photo ") return } print("imageURL: \(imageURL)") print("videoURL: \(videoURL)") saveLivePhoto(imageURL: imageURL, videoURL: videoURL) { success, error in if success { xxxxx } else { xxxxx } } Really need help, thanks
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287
Mar ’25
Dockkit custom tracking does not work on iOS18.3
Hi all, I'm using Apple Sample Code below to create application using dockkit. "Controlling a DockKit accessory using your camera app" https://developer.apple.com/documentation/dockkit/controlling-a-dockkit-accessory-using-your-camera-app?changes=_8 I used vision hand recognition and put the observation data to dockAccessory.track, but Belkin or Insta360 devices never move on iPhone 16 Pro Max with iOS 18.3. If I use other functions like face search (system tracking) in the app, those work ok. I used Belkin and Insta360 Flow 2 Pro to reproduce the problem. My friend is also saying that the custom tracking feature was working fine on the OS 18 beta, but on recent iOS 18.3 that feature does not work. If I can get the iOS 18.0 beta then we can test that feature. But I cannot revert my iOS from 18.3 to the iOS 18.0 Beta. Regards, TO
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325
Dec ’25