iPhone 17 Pro Will Make Sports History This Weekend

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that this Saturday's Major League Soccer match between the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo FC will be captured entirely with the iPhone 17 Pro.

Apple said this will mark the first time an iPhone will be used to capture the entirety of a major professional live sporting event broadcast, rather than studio cameras, so the iPhone 17 Pro will make sports history this weekend.

"iPhone 17 Pro will capture live footage throughout the match, including team warmups on the pitch, player introductions, in-net goal angles, and the atmosphere inside the stadium," said Apple. "With cameras positioned throughout the venue, the broadcast will deliver the pristine video quality fans expect, alongside dynamic new perspectives that bring viewers closer to the action, made possible by the small form factor of iPhone."

Apple TV subscribers will be able to stream the match live on Saturday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time. For the 2026 season, only an Apple TV subscription is required, with a separate MLS Season Pass subscription no longer necessary.

Apple already used the iPhone 17 Pro to capture select moments and cinematic Fenway Park footage during a Major League Baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers last year, but other cameras were also used. For the Major League Soccer match this weekend, the iPhone 17 Pro will exclusively capture all footage.

Earlier this year, the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum added one of the four iPhone 17 Pro devices that captured the Red Sox's thrilling walk-off win over the Tigers to its permanent collection in Cooperstown, New York, so the device already made sports history, and now it will repeat the feat in an even bigger way.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Pro Will Make Sports History This Weekend

 

[Ben11]

Wonder how it’s going to come out

 

[ghostface147]

I doubt this is going to be an iPhone on a tripod. Surely it will have accessories attached to it for better zoom and clarity.

 

[uncle.zed]

I hope we will be able to make calls and play on balckmagic broadcast cameras soon. buy on amazon, and scroll in tinder..

 

[caliguy]

Really inspiring how they can pull this off with a $1,000 device.

And $30,000 of rigging equipment.

 

[erikkfi]

And just an iPhone 17, right? No accessories at all. The exact thing that's in my pocket right now.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

“Sports History”? Like anyone actually cares what cameras are used for things like that? It may make “Phone Hostory” or “Camera History” but it won’t be “Sports History”.

 

[avkills]

As a video engineer this is the dumbest production decision I have ever seen.

 

[contacos]

*"filmed" on iPhone

 

[Will Co]

“Sports History”? Like anyone actually cares what cameras are used for things like that? It may make “Phone Hostory” or “Camera History” but it won’t be “Sports History”.

Exactly this. If the event itself was something of really significant world-wide importance - an international competition such as the Olympics, or a World Cup for some sport, then it might have a claim to being properly historic. No offence intended, but it's just a footy match.

 

[j569mxr]

Wonder how it’s going to come out

as long as they don't get a call in the middle of the stream it might be fine

 

[UliBaer]

Do I really make Space history, if I'm the first person capturing a rocket start entirely with an iPhone?! 🤔 🤣

 

[avkills]

My bet is they are running every feed through a AJA FS HDR, primarily to sync the signals so that they can run them into the production switcher; shading these is going to be a total pain in the ass.

It probably is not that hard to tether something. Probably using something from Black Magic Design maybe also.

Probably this

Too bad they did not do a SDI output for this thing.

Black magic is ok if you stay in there eco system, but for professional sports broadcast -- I don't get it.

 

[Mousse]

Are they going to have guys running around the field with an iPhone so we can get a close up of the action?🤔 Maybe body cams on the refs and players? Take the professional 'rasslin' concept of stuntmen doing their own acting🤭 on step further. Stuntmen doing their own acting and filming. Y'all gotta agree some of the best acting you've ever seen has been during a football/soccer match.😁

 

[zarmanto]

Do I really make Space history, if I'm the first person capturing a rocket start entirely with an iPhone?! 🤔 🤣

Yes -- IF you're doing it in your professional capacity while working for a company which routinely publishes press releases that can say pretty nearly anything that your lawyers will sign off on.

 

[Macalicious2011]

*"filmed" on iPhone

View attachment 2631673

Yupp with $20-200k in lighting, filters and stabilisers.

 

[heroinsmoker]

It doesn't say the entirety will be filmed on iPhones. Just a few angles and 'atmosphere' shots. The main shots of the game will be on real broadcast cameras.

 

[jhwalker]

It doesn't say the entirety will be filmed on iPhones. Just a few angles and 'atmosphere' shots. The main shots of the game will be on real broadcast cameras.

Actually, it states explicitly the ENTIRE GAME will be filmed with the iPhones:

"Apple already used the iPhone 17 Pro to capture select moments and cinematic Fenway Park footage during a Major League Baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers last year, but other cameras were also used. For the Major League Soccer match this weekend, the iPhone 17 Pro will exclusively capture all footage."

I suspect that's actually a misstatement or misunderstanding, but that's what the article says.

 

[zarmanto]

It doesn't say the entirety will be filmed on iPhones. Just a few angles and 'atmosphere' shots. The main shots of the game will be on real broadcast cameras.

I believe it does, actually. The verbiage directly in the press release (linked in the article) reads as follows:

This Saturday’s LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo FC match marks the next leap forward: the first live professional sporting event captured entirely on iPhone.

(Of course, you might be able to argue that this only means that iPhones will be recording the entire time, and not that iPhones will be the exclusive recording devices used for the game.)

 

[Corefile]

Nobody around to watch it. The World Cup will be over in 7 weeks.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I believe it does, actually. The verbiage directly in the press release (linked in the article) reads as follows:



(Of course, you might be able to argue that this only means that iPhones will be recording the entire time, and not that iPhones will be the exclusive recording devices used for the game.)

Seems to be deliberately ambiguous. It does not say exclsusively.

And it's definitely not the first live professional sporting event captured entirely on an iPhone. Just the first legal one. Well, second, apparently.

 

[Octavius8]

How will they zoom?, how will they stabilize?, how many phones vs regular cameras, normally used, will be in the venue?, how many operators?, how is going to be the control center?, how to transfer the feed from the iPhones to the master control center?.
Is feasible for a small company use plain iPhones for this kind of events or need super charged phones with million dollars gimbals, zooms, cooling devices for iPhones, special processing in a control room, etc. is just “yes, is technically possible, but…” scenario?

 

[kuito]

I want to see the rigs they use

 

[zarmanto]

Seems to be deliberately ambiguous. It does not say exclsusively.

And it's definitely not the first live professional sporting event captured entirely on an iPhone. Just the first legal one. Well, second, apparently.

Oops -- it looks like I missed that, in the very first sentence of the press release... it actually does say exclusively:

This Saturday, May 23, Apple TV will present a special live Major League Soccer match captured exclusively on iPhone 17 Pro — marking the first time iPhone will be used to capture the entirety of a major professional live sporting event broadcast.

 

[StuBeck]

Neat, but a bit silly without also annouancing everything they are using to complete the filming process. Unless its a iPhone on a tripod its a bit useless to discuss what they're actually doing.