The iPhone 17’s selfie camera is to blame for delayed Project Indigo support
iPhone 17 Pro owners are currently experiencing a frustrating wait for Adobe’s innovative camera app, Project Indigo, which has yet to receive support for the latest iPhone models. Launched just over a month ago, the iPhone 17 series boasts significant upgrades, particularly in its 18-megapixel front camera, which allows for versatile portrait and landscape shots without compromising quality. However, users eager to leverage the enhanced capabilities of their new devices have been left disappointed, as Project Indigo remains incompatible due to technical difficulties, primarily linked to the new selfie camera. According to a post by Adobe product manager Boris Ajdin on the company’s community forums, the team has encountered issues that necessitate collaboration with Apple to resolve, specifically regarding the front camera’s functionality. Ajdin mentioned that a fix is expected to be included in the upcoming iOS 26.1 update, but this means Project Indigo may need to disable the front camera feature temporarily until the software is released.
Despite the setbacks, Ajdin has expressed optimism about rolling out an update soon, possibly within the week, which has kept the hopes of eager users alive. Project Indigo has quickly garnered a loyal following since its summer debut, celebrated for its natural processing that diverges from the typical smartphone camera aesthetic. The app is spearheaded by Marc Levoy, a notable figure in computational photography, previously known for his contributions to the Google Pixel camera. While Project Indigo is currently exclusive to iOS, Android users are also anxiously awaiting their version, though Levoy has indicated that it remains a challenging endeavor. As the iPhone 17 Pro continues to impress with its camera capabilities, the anticipation surrounding Project Indigo’s eventual support underscores the importance of such innovative tools in enhancing the photography experience for smartphone users.
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iPhone 17 Pro owners are still waiting for Project Indigo support. | Photo: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
The iPhone 17 series launched just over a month ago, but
Adobe’s camera app Project Indigo
still doesn’t support the latest iPhones — you can run it on an iPhone 12 Pro if you have one handy, but I can’t use it on the iPhone 17 Pro on my desk. The holdup seems to be due in part to trouble with the phone’s new selfie camera, according to
a post on Adobe’s forum
(
spotted by a keen-eyed redditor
). And although it seems the wait might be over soon, support for the selfie camera might not be available right away.
Product manager Boris Ajdin has been relaying information about Project Indigo’s updates to eager fans on Adobe’s community forums, and he posted an update on October 16th with more information about the delayed iPhone 17 support. “We are working hard on it, and we have run into some issues, especially with the front camera. Some of them we flagged to Apple, who have made a fix and will ship it with iOS 26.1. Sadly, that means we need to consider disabling the front camera in Indigo until that version of iOS is shipped,” his post reads.
The team hoped to release that update “in a couple of days,” though it’s clear now that more time was needed. Responding to
another comment
in the thread today, Ajdin says he is “hoping that we can release an update this week.” I reached out to Adobe to ask for more details about the challenges the selfie camera has posed; Adobe spokesperson Erin Di Leva referred me to the aforementioned forum posts.
The iPhone 17 series included
the first major update to the selfie camera
since
switching to a 12-megapixel sensor
in the iPhone 11. The 17’s 18-megapixel front camera sensor is square, allowing it to capture both portrait and landscape orientation images without rotating the whole phone (or losing a lot of resolution to cropping). It also uses Center Stage controls to automatically follow subjects around the frame and change orientation when more people join the photo. It’s a useful update to a well-used camera, though
not everyone is a fan of the image quality
.
Project Indigo gained a faithful following when it debuted this summer, offering more natural processing compared to the typical smartphone camera “look” most native camera apps produce. It’s the product of a team led by Marc Levoy, who’s known for his work on the Google Pixel camera and its pioneering use of computational photography. Indigo is an “experimental” app and is so far only available on iOS; Android owners are still waiting for support, which
Levoy told me earlier this year
is “definitely on the ‘want’ list,” though is likewise quite challenging. I have a feeling iPhone 17 owners are going to get their Indigo support before Android does.
