Inside Apple's Play to Shoot a Pro Soccer Game Entirely With iPhones

At 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