Which iPhones support dual camera capture?
Simultaneous front-and-back capture is a hardware feature with a clean cutoff line.
Short answer: every iPhone from the XS, XS Max and XR (2018) onward supports multi-cam capture. If your iPhone runs iOS 17, it can shoot dual photos and videos with an app like Selfie. No iPhone before 2018 can, on any iOS version.
The support list
| iPhone | Dual capture |
|---|---|
| iPhone XS / XS Max / XR (2018) | ✅ |
| iPhone 11 / 11 Pro (2019) | ✅ |
| iPhone SE 2nd gen (2020) and later SEs | ✅ |
| iPhone 12 – 15 families | ✅ |
| iPhone 16 family and later | ✅ (plus Apple's native Dual Capture video mode) |
| iPhone X, 8, 7 and earlier | ❌ — hardware lacks multi-cam support |
The gate is the A12 Bionic chip's image signal processor. Apple's AVCaptureMultiCamSession API reports support at runtime, and it has been "A12 and newer" since the API shipped in iOS 13.
Note the fun inversion: dual photos still require a third-party app even on the newest Pro model, while Apple's own dual-video mode exists only on iPhone 16+. The full stock-camera story is in this guide.
What differs between models
- Zoom range: in dual mode every model uses the wide lens on both sides (1x–5x) — the ultra-wide is unavailable while both cameras run, on all models (why). In single-camera mode, models with more back lenses get more range.
- Front camera quality: newer models have better selfie sensors, which mostly shows in low light.
- Thermals: older devices warm up sooner during long dual-video recordings — two full camera pipelines is real work for a 2018 chip.
iOS requirement
Selfie requires iOS 17, which runs on iPhone XS/XR and everything after — conveniently the exact same set of phones that have multi-cam hardware. If the phone can install the app, dual capture works.
Common questions
Does dual capture work on iPad? Multi-cam is supported on recent iPads at the API level, but Selfie is an iPhone app; the dual-capture app ecosystem generally targets iPhone.
Does it work on Android? Some Android phones support similar simultaneous capture, but it varies wildly by manufacturer. This site (and Selfie) covers the iPhone side.
My iPhone is on the list but a dual app says unsupported — why? Almost always an old iOS version. Update to iOS 17+; multi-cam capability itself never degrades.