GoKawiilAt Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles on May 23, the visiting Major League Soccer team, the Houston Dynamo, got past the goalie and nearly scored before a defender from the home LA Galaxy kicked the ball away at the last second. Fans at home saw it in a brand-new way: from an iPhone 17 Pro Max positioned right behind the goal. For the first time in major sports history, a professional game was shot entirely with iPhones.
Fifteen iPhones were positioned around the field (all iPhone 17 Pro Max models), eight of which were shooting with their native lenses, like the one behind the goal. The other seven were shooting directly through massive external zoom lenses attached to the iPhones. The zoom lenses were like those folks are used to seeing line professional sports stadiums that let camera operators capture plays from across the field.
There's were two or three cameras more than typically used in previous games, executive vice president of Media for Major League Soccer Seth Bacon told the media during an on-field preview before the match. But the better value is being able to position iPhones just using their regular lenses in places where large-lens cameras wouldn't fit, like behind the goals and facing teams on the sideline.
"Those bench cameras you saw, we can't get cameras that close, usually. What we'll do is, we'll shoot across the field to get reaction shots," Bacon said. "The kind of compactness of the iPhone and being able to put it right there is a big, big step forward for us."
Of the 15 iPhones shooting footage of the May 23, 2026 MLS game, eight used the native lenses on the phones. This one is positioned behind a goal on the field, a location that would be far riskier for a more expensive camera. David Lumb/CNET
That proximity to players and coaches could offer fun opportunities for capturing players on the iPhones' microphones at some point, but for now MLS wants to be considerate of their privacy. And mind the, say, colorful language they may use during heated moments in a game. The iPhones elsewhere on the field are picking up game audio.
Folks watching the game on Apple TV likely couldn't tell the difference, and that's entirely the point. It showcases the recording capability of Apple's phones, suggesting that viewers could shoot footage at the same level of quality with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in their pocket.
"Our native [iPhone 17 Pro Max] lenses, the quality that they're able to produce is just as good as that from a traditional broadcast," said Royce Dickerson, executive producer of live sports at Apple. "You won't be able to tell the difference between the native lens cameras and the cameras with the zoom lens on them."
Seven of the iPhones positioned around the field had external lenses mounted to their cameras and attached to professional videographer setups like this one. Though difficult to see from this angle, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is within the rig between the camera operators' hands. David Lumb/CNET
It's not quite so simple for the casual photographer to mimic the footage of those broadcasts, as the external lenses it's captured with are expensive. Apple declined to say how much they cost, but they looked just like the Fujinon Duvo 25-1000 Cinema Box Lens that was announced with a launch price of $265,000, according to YMCinema. Then the footage is run through Blackmagic video processing software. Consumers can get their own version with the company's Blackmagic Camera iOS app.
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