In the age of selfies and short-form videos, front cameras matter more than ever — and Apple just took the crown. According to DxOMark’s latest rankings, the iPhone 17 Pro now sits at the very top for selfie performance, edging out rivals from Honor and Google. The big secret? A new square-sensor front camera that changes how you shoot yourself.
The entire iPhone 17 lineup — from the base model to the Pro Max — gets a major upgrade this year: an 18MP f/1.9 front camera with a unique square sensor. It replaces the older 12MP unit from the iPhone 16 Pro and introduces something we haven’t seen before on a smartphone — the ability to switch between portrait and landscape shots without physically rotating the phone. It’s a smart nod to creators who rely on vertical and horizontal framing for social content.
DxOMark gave the iPhone 17 Pro an impressive 154 points, putting it ahead of the iPhone 16 Pro and Honor Magic6 Pro (both scored 151). The iPhone 15 Pro followed at 149, while Google’s Pixel 9 Pro XL landed at 148. That three-point jump may sound small, but it’s enough to push Apple to the top of the global selfie charts.
The improvements come from both hardware and Apple’s image processing tweaks. The front camera now delivers better exposure balance, wider dynamic range, and richer color tones — though, in true Apple fashion, skin tones stay on the warmer side. The slightly wider 20mm focal length (up from 23mm on last year’s Pro) also helps fit more people into frame without distortion.
That said, it’s not perfect. Low-light selfies still show a bit of noise, and heavy movement can throw off stabilization. But those are small trade-offs in what’s otherwise a major leap forward.
For anyone who spends time in front of the camera — vloggers, streamers, or just selfie lovers — the iPhone 17 Pro feels like a serious step up. Apple didn’t just add more megapixels; it rethought how the front camera works. And for once, that innovation clearly shows in the results.
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