The iOS Camera app offers a few optional settings to help you line up your shots, most notably a Grid that can be overlaid on the screen to help apply the rule of thirds.
And for the last few years, the Grid mode has included a somewhat-hidden leveling feature for top-down photos, popping up a floating crosshair to help make sure you're lined up properly above your subject.
With iOS 17, Apple is enhancing the camera leveling functionality, separating it out from the Grid mode to its own option and expanding it to include a horizontal level for more traditional straight-on photos.
Turning the Level option on will pop up a broken horizontal line on the screen when your iPhone senses you're lining up for a straight-on shot and you tilt your device slightly out of horizontal. The line appears white while your phone is out of level and then turns yellow once you achieve a level orientation to indicate success.
The leveling pop-up only appears for a brief time and only within a narrow range of angles close to horizontal (in either portrait or landscape orientation), so it's not intrusively popping up when you're intentionally trying to take a photo at an angle.
The new option appears to be off by default if you don't have Grid mode turned on before upgrading, but is on by default if you're already a Grid mode user. The option can be toggled in the Camera section of the Settings app.
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
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"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
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In an email this week, Apple gave customers a final reminder to upgrade their Home app by February 10, 2026. Apple says users who do not upgrade may experience issues with accessories and automations, or lose access to their smart...
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Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
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In his Powe...
Apple's first foldable iPhone will feature relocated volume buttons, an all-black camera plateau, a smaller Dynamic Island, and more, according to design leaks from a known Weibo leaker.
The user known as "Instant Digital" today claimed to share several key details about the design of the foldable iPhone:
The volume buttons will be located on the top edge of the device, aligned to the...
we need a camera app redesign. it’s been how long now. app feels like a toy with the slider and how many times has everyone accidentally changed the mode
I love the people like “OMG stolen from [whatever] software!!!!!1111~~” as if leveling indicators haven’t been part of photography and built into cameras for decades. I had a film SLR camera in the late 90s that had a light that came on when I was holding it level.
