Photographer and YouTuber Jason Vong discovered a way to internally record iPhone ProRes RAW HQ Open Gate video on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, a feat that should be impossible.
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max were recently released, and they are fantastic for both mobile photographers and videographers. One of the significant upgrades for video is that the iPhone 17 Pro can record ProRes RAW in Open Gate, allowing users to capture video with the entire 4:3 image sensor. However, this added flexibility and great-looking footage comes with the limitation that it must be recorded externally to an SSD. Or, at least, that’s what Apple says.
However, as Vong demonstrates in the video below, a workaround exists to enable internal ProRes RAW Open Gate recording on Apple’s latest flagship phones.
The workaround still requires the user to have an external SSD, but they can remove it from their iPhone without issue and still record footage. It’s a straightforward trick.
First the user connects their SSD to their iPhone and opens up Final Cut Camera, which was recently updated to take full advantage of the iPhone 17 Pro’s new camera features and select ProRes RAW HQ Open Gate recording. Then users can minimize the app, bringing up their home screen. At this point, after detaching the SSD, the user can reopen the Final Cut Camera app and record in their previously selected settings. The videos correctly record to the iPhone 17 Pro’s internal storage.
Speaking of storage, one potential reason why Apple may have intended to disable recording certain video types internally is that ProRes RAW HQ Open Gate video consumes storage very quickly. Although the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max start with 256GB and now even go up to 2TB, Vong managed to record nearly 300GB of video in Final Cut Camera in just one day. That’s a lot, and for power users, this trick may ultimately cause more problems than it solves.
It’s also unclear if there are any thermal or overheating concerns when recording ProRes RAW HQ Open Gate video to the iPhone 17 Pro’s internal SSD. Although Vong didn’t mention having any problems, sustained data writing to an SSD typically generates heat, and the iPhone 17 Pro is not explicitly designed for this demanding video recording.
That said, in PetaPixel‘s iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Review, we noted that ProRes RAW “can only be recorded to an external drive with either Final Cut Camera or Blackmagic Camera apps” despite the data rates being similar to ProRes 422 HQ, which iPhone models have been able to record internally for years.
What is undoubtedly clear is that this is not intended behavior. Apple’s technical specifications are precise: specific ProRes video recording modes require external recording, including ProRes RAW. As Vong shows, that’s not strictly true, but this has all the markings of a bug, and Apple typically squashes those in short order.
Image credits: Apple