Apple to Broadcast an MLS Game Entirely Captured with an iPhone 17 Pro

Apple is preparing to experiment with a new approach in sports television production with a broadcast that represents a groundbreaking first in the industry. The Major League Soccer match between Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo on May 23 will be the first major professional sporting event transmitted entirely using iPhones to capture all live images.

The match, scheduled for 10:30 PM ET (4:30 AM our time), will arrive just before the long seven-week break of the U.S. league, a pause due to the start of the FIFA World Cup in North America. For this special occasion, Apple has decided to rely exclusively on its smartphones for the production of the match.

According to the company's announcement, the production team will use 15 iPhone 17 Pro devices to record every moment of the event. The cameras will follow the teams' warm-ups, players' entries onto the field, audience reactions, and of course, the most important game actions, including goals captured directly from inside the net.

Apple aims to provide a different perspective on the upcoming MLS game. The company's goal is to offer a different viewpoint compared to traditional sports TV productions. Thanks to the compact size of the smartphones, it will be possible to achieve closer and more dynamic angles, bringing viewers even closer to the action on the field. The company believes that the compact format of iPhones can open new creative possibilities in live sports directing.

This, however, is not Apple's first experience with using smartphones during professional sporting events. As early as September of last year, the company experimented with some shots taken with iPhones during a Major League Baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers.

After that initial test, Apple continued to integrate iPhones into its sports productions, gradually incorporating them into the normal workflow of Friday Night Baseball broadcasts and MLS games aired throughout 2026. The match between Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo represents a much more ambitious step, as for the first time, all live images will be generated exclusively through smartphones.