iPhone: the worst webcam you can find
25.5.2026
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Pictures: Lorenz Keller
I’ve been using my iPhone as a webcam for over three years. The Continuity Camera feature is well-intentioned but poorly executed. After a lot of stress, crashing and confusion, I’m done with it.
It’s a brilliant idea: since macOS Ventura and iOS 16, I’ve been able to use my iPhone as a webcam with any Mac. This offers a solution that outperforms any conventional webcam in terms of sensor quality and image processing software. At least on paper. I’m used to Apple delivering on its promises. Not in this case.
Looks simple enough – on paper
The feature’s called Continuity Camera, and it’s enabled by default. All I need to do is make sure your iPhone and Mac are connected to the same network. When I enter a video call using any app, I can select my iPhone as the camera and microphone.
However, there are a few other minor requirements that need to be met for this connection to work. Both devices need to be signed in to the same Apple ID, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth has to be enabled and neither AirPlay nor a hotspot can be active. Maybe the detailed instructions on the website, with its long list of troubleshooting steps, should’ve tipped me off.
I’ve been using this feature since 2023 with an iPhone 15 Pro and a MacBook Pro, and I even bought a mount specifically for it.
I horizontally attach my iPhone to it using the magnet. In standby mode, it displays the time and calendar on-screen; when I get a call, I flip the device over. This is necessary since the Continuity Camera uses only the iPhone’s main camera; the selfie camera remains disabled. Shame.
Incredibly unreliable
But that doesn’t matter, since it fails at an even more basic hurdle. Continuity Camera is the most unreliable Apple feature I know.
For example, I start a call via Teams, Google, or Zoom – and wait in vain for the webcam feed. Sometimes it helps to launch Photo Booth to initiate the wireless connection. Other times I have to restart my MacBook; only then can the other participants see me.
But even when video is streaming, I never feel safe. Suddenly, my live feed disappears and the connection to the iPhone is lost. The call itself goes on, and the audio still works – but other people in the call think I’ve dropped out since the video looks frozen or blurry. Often, this blackout lasts only a minute before the image comes back. But it’s quite possible that the same thing will happen every ten minutes. So annoying.
There’s no pattern in the outages and connection issues. It didn’t start out poorly before getting better or vice versa. The problems aren’t caused by updates either.
The iPhone’s webcam is simply unreliable and finicky and has been for the past three years. It runs smoothly for weeks, only to begin its on-off cycle all over again from one day to the next. Sometimes a call goes smoothly, then the second one has no video and the third works fine again.
The world’s most expensive webcam has to go
Over the years, I’ve repeatedly tried to get to the bottom of this problem. Are all my settings correct? Can I find any known errors? Is there anything I can fix? I haven’t found an answer to any of this, but I do know of plenty other people with the same problem. On Apple’s website alone, in the Help Forum, I found over 200 posts on this topic from the past three years. Everyone’s got a problem, no one has a workable solution.
So, why didn’t I give up long ago? Simple: I’ve been through several extended periods where my iPhone worked reliably as a webcam. This gave rise to the foolish hope that Apple had identified and fixed the problem. No such luck, sadly.
The iPhone manufacturer launched a feature before it was ready – and hasn’t touched it since. I’m surprised, since Apple usually does a good job maintaining its software.
That’s it, I’ve had enough. I’m going to stop using the world’s most expensive webcam and buy a cheaper alternative. It may be less fancy and produce lower-quality images. But in the end, there’ll be no more crashes or outages.
Lorenz Keller
Senior Editor
Lorenz.Keller@digitecgalaxus.chGadgets are my passion - whether you need them for the home office, for the household, for sport and pleasure or for the smart home. Or, of course, for the big hobby next to the family, namely fishing.
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