The iPhone’s new crossbody strap is generating a lot of internet hate – but haven’t we always had straps around our cameras?

(Image credit: Apple)

On my last vacation, I was taking quick snapshots with my iPhone at the top of an elevated lookout tower. My son looked down and said, Oooh, don’t drop your phone here. That conversation immediately came to mind when Apple launched its latest accessories along with the iPhone 17 series, a list that includes a crossbody iPhone strap that has seemingly divided the internet.

Apple’s Crossbody Strap is an adjustable strap designed to wear an iPhone at your hip. The strap connects with some of Apple’s new cases and uses magnets for easily adjusting the length of the strap.

The internet reacted as the internet typically does, with Apple fans divided in a mixture of awe – and hate. But when I saw the Crossbody Strap, I didn’t think smartphone strap. I thought: The camera that fits in my pocket finally has a camera strap.

Cameras have been paired with straps since the technology first became portable. Not every photographer uses straps – the strap-or-no-strap debate at times seems nearly as divisive as Canon vs Nikon.

But I’ve always considered the camera strap more essential than optional. A camera strap enables my hands to be free when I’m not snapping a photo and keeps it ready for whenever a moment unfolds. But a camera strap also feels far safer to use. It protects my gear from being dropped off an elevated lookout platform or off the side of a boat.

A strap for the camera that took 500 billion selfies last year alone doesn’t feel outrageous; it feels long overdue.

I don’t need convincing over the value of having a camera worn around your neck – not to mention the freedom to pack light without bringing a purse. (Do not get me started on the tiny and even non-existent pockets on women’s clothing.)

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But, I may need convincing over whether or not the design of Apple’s Crossbody Strap is smart or needs improvement. When I first heard of a smartphone strap with magnets, I thought perhaps the magnets were to quickly attach and detach the smartphone. After all, I may want a strap on my camera, but I don’t want to bother with a cumbersome attachment when using my phone to read an eBook, tap out emails, or stream a video.

That’s not what the magnets are for, though – they're for adjusting the length of the strap. Based on the product photos, it looks like the strap attaches to the smartphone with simple fabric loops through holes in compatible cases, like a typical lanyard. That seems like it would be a pain to get the strap on and off, and I think a quick-release system would be even more essential on a smartphone.

My camera connects to a harness using metal clips at the tripod mount and a secondary anchor at the usual strap attachment ring. Attaching and detaching my camera from the strap takes seconds, and that metal connection isn’t going to wear out over time.

If the iPhone wants to be taken seriously as a camera, it needs the ability to add a strap. I’m wholeheartedly on board with the idea of putting a strap on my iPhone, both for when I use it as a camera and when I want to pack light and wear pocketless dresses.

But I think the company that came up with the design for the iPhone Air and spent much of the September 09 launch talking about design could have been a bit more creative with a quick attachment system. Camera straps are a great thing. But a camera that is also an eReader, TV streamer, internet browser, portable computer, and a phone needs a quick way to get that strap on and off.

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