Capturing the thrill of Formula One from the driver’s seat isn’t easy — but for its upcoming F1 movie, Apple came up with a clever solution. To get authentic, high-speed POV footage, Apple’s engineering team built a custom camera using parts from the iPhone, small enough to mount directly on race cars.
The film, directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski, needed cinema-quality shots from the cockpit — something existing F1 broadcast cameras simply couldn’t provide. Those cameras, designed for live TV, fall short on resolution and cinematic flexibility. Instead of trying to adapt their footage in post-production, Apple went back to the drawing board.
Apple developed a custom camera module that mimicked the shape and size of standard F1 broadcast units but was powered by iPhone hardware — reportedly the iPhone 15 Pro’s 48MP main sensor and A17 Pro chip. It also included an iPhone battery, a neutral density filter to manage exposure in broad daylight, and ran a custom version of iOS that recorded in Apple’s ProRes Log format — perfect for color grading and integrating with traditional film footage.
The rig had no wireless radios (a requirement in F1), but a custom iPad app connected via USB-C allowed on-set teams to control frame rate, shutter angle, white balance, and more in real time. It was tested in actual F1 races throughout 2023 and 2024, holding up under extreme vibration, heat, and shock — even exceeding F1’s durability standards.
This custom hardware setup did more than just help Apple make a movie. It also led to real product improvements: two professional video features introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro — Log encoding and ACES color workflow — came directly from this project. While traditional Arri cameras still handled most of the film’s visuals, the iPhone module provided immersive, first-person shots that full-size cinema gear simply couldn’t capture.
Apple has a track record of pushing iPhone filmmaking — from Tangerine to 28 Years Later — and this latest example shows just how far that ambition goes. As the F1 movie hits theaters, Apple’s innovation may well inspire a new generation of filmmakers to explore what’s possible — not just with an iPhone, but with bold ideas.
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