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Jan 30, 2024

iPadOS 17 will finally allow external cameras to be connected to the iPad

by Thomas Hoffmann June 7, 2023, 3:44

by Thomas Hoffmann June 7, 2023, 3:44 pm

One of the welcome new features that will arrive with iPadOS 17 will be support for webcams and external cameraswhich will be able to connect to the iPad via USB. This became known after the release of the beta of Apple's new operating system, which has allowed developers to begin experimenting and discovering some of its hidden features.

Support for external cameras on the iPad had long been claimed to Apple. It is true that the Cupertino tablet incorporates a good quality front-facing camera with Focused Framing, the technology that keeps the user always in the center of the scene, no matter how much he or she moves. But those who wanted to connect a webcam through the USB-C port to put together a setup more "professional", they couldn't do it. Fortunately, that will be in the past when iPadOS 17 arrives.

The content creator Stephen Robles was among the first to demonstrate how this new feature of iPadOS 17 works. In his case, he achieved positive results using a Logitech webcam, as seen in the following video.

However, other users commented that they also managed to get iPadOS 17 to directly recognize the cameras mirrorles which have a webcam mode. Although the new software also supports external cameras connected to iPad via video capture adapters. The photographer John Branch IV shared his experience on Twitter using Elgato's Cam Link 4K.

It is worth clarifying that, for the time being, support for webcams and external cameras on the iPad via USB works only in FaceTime. In fact, this is easily seen in the examples we mentioned previously. But it does not necessarily mean that it will be limited to Apple's video calling platform.

The new feature is part of an API included in iPadOS 17. So developers of applications from streamingThe iPad must be incorporated in order for their corresponding platforms or services to support the use of external cameras through the iPad.

As the final version of iPadOS 17 will be released to the public near the end of the year, it is likely that by then this feature will already be included in apps such as. Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Zoomamong many others.

But what's really interesting is that this simple addition to iPadOS 17 would have the potential to dramatically change how an iPad is used. The streaming of video games might be the clearest example. In response to Stephen Robles’ testing, a Twitter user named Brian Voll showed that he was able to connect an external ElGato HD60S+ capture card to the tablet and stream a session of Zelda via FaceTime.

This means that iPadOS 17 is not limited to recognizing the video signal coming to the iPad from a camera: also works with the feed coming from other devices. In this case, a Nintendo Switch.

It will be interesting to see how this new feature progresses, but support for USB-C-powered external cameras and video signals will Has everything to be the most important new feature of iPadOS 17.. Although, curiously, Apple has decided not to promote it publicly. At least for now.

It is worth remembering that iPadOS 17 is compatible with the following iPad models: