All the iPhone 17 line phones come with some really important upgrades over their respective predecessors. One of the major changes can be noticed in the selfie camera. Compared to the iPhone 16, which comes with a 12 MP front camera, the iPhone 17 features an 18 MP shooter.
Apple did not only increase the resolution numbers but also used a completely new square-shaped sensor in the entire iPhone 17 family. The iPhone Air, which was also released last year, comes with the same sensor. That said, the square-shaped selfie sensor is going to leave Apple's exclusivity, as an Android brand is reportedly going to use it in its upcoming smartphone.
First up, what's the benefit of a square sensor?
Generally, if you are taking a selfie of yourself, you would take it in portrait orientation. But when your selfie contains a group of people, you would have to rotate your phone to landscape orientation so that everyone is framed in the viewfinder.
The use of the square sensor in the iPhone 17 series and the iPhone Air allows you to capture selfies in both landscape and portrait orientations without having to physically rotate your phone. This is made possible because the company crops into the sensor for the image. The feature is called Center Stage, and it automatically senses when it needs to switch between horizontal and vertical orientation based on what's happening in front of it.
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iPhone 17 Center Stage result. | Image by Apple
I have personally tested this capability on my friend's iPhone 17, and it's brilliant. I believe it's great for vloggers, as they won't have to physically rotate their phone when they want to capture more than one individual in their selfie video.
Do you want your next phone to feature a square sensor?
This Android phone is getting a square sensor
Honor is going to launch its Magic 9 series sometime in September, featuring two devices: the Magic 9 and the Magic 9 Pro. According to a highly reputable tipster, Digital Chat Station, the Pro model will feature a square selfie sensor. They further mentioned in their post that the front camera would inherit some of the advantages built for the recently released Honor Robot phone.
The rear camera specifications have also been revealed in the post. The phone would reportedly feature a triple-camera setup at the back, with the primary and telephoto lenses being 200 MP. The ultra-wide camera is going to be 50 MP, according to the leakster.
The device could also support ARRI-powered imaging capabilities, which would allow the camera to deliver an improved photography and videography experience. For reference, ARRI is a well-known German brand in the professional cinema industry, and Honor announced a partnership with it at Mobile World Congress 2026.
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The square sensor makes the selfie-taking experience so much better that many Android brands are reportedly working on bringing it to their devices. While it is now reported that Honor will be the first Android manufacturer to introduce the new sensor in its smartphone, previous rumors suggested that Oppo might be the first brand to bring it to its upcoming Find X10 lineup.
However, the upcoming Oppo series is most likely not coming until October, whereas the Honor Magic 9 line is reported to launch sometime in September. This would ultimately make Honor the first Android company to embrace the square sensor.
Digital Chat Station also mentioned in the comments that Vivo is also working on its own square front camera for a device that will launch next year. This suggests that more and more brands have slowly started adopting the latest camera tech. It will be interesting to see when two of the top Android manufacturers, Samsung and Google, will start using it in their smartphones.
Honor Magic 9 series launch
As mentioned above, the Magic 9 lineup from Honor is going to be unveiled in September; however, the exact date hasn't been disclosed. The devices will most likely launch first in China, followed by their global release a couple of months later.
Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
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