Adobe explains why its DSLR-like camera app Indigo doesn’t support the iPhone 17

Back in the summer, Adobe launched the Indigo camera app in response to complaints about the artificial look of typical smartphone photos, including those from Apple’s stock Camera app. Indigo uses far less aggressive processing in order to give a more natural look, with users saying the results look more like those from a DSLR.

However, weeks after the launch of the iPhone 17, the latest iPhone models still don’t support the app. Adobe has now briefly explained the reason why, and how the company plans to proceed …

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Hello everyone – thank you for your patience while you wait for the iPhone 17 support. We are working hard on it, and we have run into some issues, especially with the front camera. Some of them we flagged to Apple, who have made a fix and will ship it with iOS 26.1. Sadly, that means we need to consider disabling the front camera in Indigo until that version of iOS is shipped. In the meantime, we have made some improvements with iOS 26 compatibility on all devices. We hope to release an updated version which runs on rear iPhone 17-series cameras in a few days.

I must admit that the launch of Indigo passed me by at the time, but The Verge notes that users seem to love it.

Project Indigo gained a faithful following when it debuted this summer, offering more natural processing compared to the typical smartphone camera “look” most native camera apps produce. It’s the product of a team led by Marc Levoy, who’s known for his work on the Google Pixel camera and its pioneering use of computational photography.

Indigo is an “experimental” app and is so far only available on iOS; Android owners are still waiting for support, which Levoy told me earlier this year is “definitely on the ‘want’ list,” though is likewise quite challenging. I have a feeling iPhone 17 owners are going to get their Indigo support before Android does.

My initial tests do seem to show that it is well worth trying, and I’ll likely follow up with a review sometime over the next few weeks.

Highlighted accessories

• Official Apple Store on Amazon
• Apple 40W Dynamic Power Adapter for iPhone 17
• Official Apple iPhone Air cases and bumpers
• iPhone Air MagSafe Battery
• Official iPhone Air case
• Official iPhone 17 cases
• Pro Max cases

Photos: Adobe