iPadOS 17 finally supports external USB webcams and cameras

iPad owners have been waiting years to get full USB webcam and camera support.

The iPad is finally getting support for external USB webcams and cameras. Apple’s latest iPadOS 17 developer beta includes support for a variety of USB webcams and even cameras connected through devices like Elgato’s Cam Link 4K or mirrorless cameras that have webcam modes.

Twitter user Stephen Robles has demonstrated the USB webcam support and notes that it only works in FaceTime right now. That’s because this is a new underlying API in iPadOS 17 and developers will need to update their apps to support the new camera options. It will be particularly useful for apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to be able to use external USB cameras and webcams.

Another Twitter user, Brian Voll, discovered that you can even use Elgato’s HD60S+ USB capture card to stream content from a game console or any HDMI device into a FaceTime call. Once apps like Twitch and YouTube are updated to support this new external camera capability then it will also turn the iPad into a much more capable mobile streaming device.

Apple is currently testing iPadOS 17 with a developer beta available immediately free of charge to registered developers. A public beta of iPadOS 17 will be available in July ahead of the final release this fall.