iOS 27 adds a useful FaceTime feature that lets you share the front and rear cameras on your iPhone at the same time, allowing the person you are calling to see both you and what is in front of you.
Apple calls the feature Dual Capture. Instead of switching away from your face when you flip to the rear camera, FaceTime can keep your front-camera view visible in a smaller window while the rear camera shows your surroundings.
The feature could be particularly useful when showing someone a view, demonstrating something during a call or sharing what is happening around you without losing your own video. It is one of a number of smaller additions included with iOS 27, which The Apple Post has detailed in its complete look at the update’s new features.
There is an important hardware limitation. According to Apple’s iPhone User Guide, Dual Capture in FaceTime is available on iPhone 17 and later, so installing iOS 27 on an older supported iPhone will not make the feature available.
How to use both iPhone cameras on FaceTime in iOS 27
Using Dual Capture does not require enabling anything in Settings. Start or join a one-on-one FaceTime video call, then tap your own video tile to bring up the camera controls.
Tap the button to switch to the rear camera. On a supported iPhone, FaceTime will show the rear-camera feed while keeping the front camera active, placing your face in a smaller window within the rear-camera view.
If you only want to show the rear camera, tap the control to hide the front camera. Apple says this preference is remembered for future FaceTime calls, so the front camera will remain hidden when using the rear camera until you turn it back on.
Dual Capture currently works during one-on-one FaceTime calls. Apple lists support for iPhone 17 or later, including newer models running iOS 27.
The addition builds on the existing FaceTime camera controls, which already allow users to switch cameras, use Portrait mode and adjust the rear-camera zoom. Rather than replacing those controls, Dual Capture makes switching to the rear camera more useful when the caller still wants to remain visible.
Dual Capture is also highlighted in The Apple Post’s look at the smaller iOS 27 changes Apple barely mentioned, alongside a range of other quality-of-life improvements included in the update.