How to Fix iPhone 16 Pro Max Camera Focus Issue

Bang on! I agree and most of us here seem to be on the same page, we are simply talking about taking a close up photo(NOT MACRO) of a menu/ brochure / etc. with the standard 24mm, 1x zoom and for it to be crisp and sharp all around, as it has been on all older iPhones, not sure why this is so complex to understand, right 😅?

It’s actually pretty embarrassing sending a 💩 and blurry photo to a mate from an iPhone 16 Pro Max, AFTER spending $2000+ because it’s meant to have the “best cameras” 😒 when clearly it doesn’t, even when compared to my iPhone 13 Pro 🤦🏻

I've read through the entire discussion and seen plenty of professional evidence, yet it seems like you keep missing the point. We're not talking about taking pictures from a distance but about the issue of blurry photos at close range, without using macro. It looks like you might be trolling, given all the evidence here that points to a serious problem for the brand.

It's quite ironic, you keep telling people to read the whole post, but it seems you haven't grasped the main issue yourself. We are dealing with blurred images up close, not photos of turtles from 10 meters away. Still, I'll lay out the steps to replicate the issue on iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max for you, since your iPhone possibly has the same problem, though you might not realize it:

1. Don't use macro mode.
2. Shoot from about 30-40cm away.
3. Look for slightly dim lighting—too bright, and you won't see the issue.
4. Try photographing text with the focus on the center and then check the edges for clarity.
5. No matter what other camera settings you're using, as long as you follow the points mentioned above and the text at the edges of your picture is clear, then everything should be fine.

You seem to have a misunderstanding of how cameras work, despite trying to educate others on the topic. I tested seven iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max models at the store, and all had this issue, unlike older models that produced clear images. So please, stop posting misleading information here. Your interpretation of these discussions just underscores your lack of understanding.

I suggest others ignore this user (Jeff Donald). He's just filling the thread with unnecessary comments and not helping at all. He didn't perform any tests, appears to have missed the main point despite numerous posts with in-depth evidence, and PROBABLY HASN'T READ THE ENTIRE POST, yet he's still trying to teach others. I doubt this guy even has the right iPhone.

I have similar issue, with the zooming out the camera struggle to focus. My iPhone 14 it is more stable with the focus. It seems with the 16 is getting worst in performance. I will try to return mine, I am very disappointed.

the quality of pics and vids are poor. I am using raw max.

keep in mind that it’s happening since iPhone 14 and they have done nothing to fix it!!!! My banking app requires me to take a picture of my left hand to pretty much enable a “digital token” and be able to make online transactions and here I am using my banking app from my XR 🙄🙄 all they say is “reach the developer of the third party app” but it literally happens with almost every third party app? Do we have to reach out to all of them? Wouldn’t it be easy that Apple actually just fix it themselves since it’s only a “one fits all” solution???

Hey Mate more proof below, again i had to resize it, etc. once again looks worse on full quality and zoomed in

Have a look where it says 130g/220ml and have a look at the blur between IP11, 13, 14 and 16 being the worst

Hi, is there a solution for the awful blur? I thought my iPhone was broken, so I went to an Apple Store and the technician said they’d have to have a look at it and to book an appointment. I haven’t done that yet, and I just found this thread. I am speechless for how bad these photos are. It’s unacceptable.

Jeff, I have been a professional photographer for the past 20 years. Been toying with so many phone models and paraphernalia of photography accordingly. So, believe me it is NOT normal for the "objects in front of the subject to be In Focus and objects behind the subject to be OoF". I have been using iphones for the past 8 years and never have I ever encountered this problem. You do not have to define the depth of field for me mate. My whole contention is regarding the very fact that when I am NOT using the portrait mode, why should one person in a group shot, who is close to the cam becomes razor sharp, while the rest of the persons go blur even when a shot is taken at 1x? Talking about the computational photography or the AI, both should be sensible enough to understand the fact that its a GROUP shot and not an individual one just like the cams of the previous iphone models understood. However, its not the same with iphone 16. And even changing the apertures or focal length doesn't help much when taking a group shot. Again, the AI should kick in deciding the focal length for each shot depending upon the intention of taking that shot. Coming to your "third party app" point, what good is iphone cam app if i need to use a third party app? Its preposterous. Rather than understanding the irritation that all of us, iphone 16 users are going through, you are simply brushing off the entire thing under the carpet, unfortunately.

IOS 18.2 did not fix the issue 😒😒

I just found that the same issue applies on the 1.2x(28mm) and 1.5x(35mm) zoom also! But the 1x being the worst!

So basically what you’re saying is, that users need to adapt and inconvenience themselves just to take a photo that’s non blurry. I mean, in my case, sure I’ll just take it with a 2x zoom on the 12MP (instead of the 1x at 24MP which is silly because 24MP should have better quality than 12MP?!) and that’s cool, that will sort out MY issue. But that’s inconvenient because that renders the 1x zoom useless by the sounds of it, because some people in here are also complaining about photos where you have 2 subjects in a photo, where one is blurry and one is not, etc. so my issue is solved with the 2x zoom, but then that means the 1x is unusable unless you’re happy to have a photo which is overall blurry. 🤔 and that’s compared to all previous iPhones. Which by the sounds of it a lot of people are NOT happy hence why we are on this forum in the first place!

We are not happy because apple advertised and lent hard this year on what the cameras can do, and yet we can’t take a simple photo without having an overall blurry photo on the 1x 24mm, 24MP main camera 🤷🏻🤷🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻 and paid premium 💰 for premium photos and it just sounds like it’s a massive flop!

I guess I’ll wait for IOS 18.3 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻 and see what happens

Im going through the same thing!

Definitely there is a problem with the IP 16 camera no matter how they try to play it down - now, whether they will be able to fix the issue with software updates or not that is another matter. But one thing is certain next time you buy an iPhone have to test everything. We never think about the camera when we buy a phone but rather look at the other functions. Definitely disappointing from Apple this time. Over 90% of iPhone users just want to open the camera and take a photo or video expecting the camera it will adjust itself they don’t want to go and open to try different settings. But it is what it is for now.

Have a look all over the community there’s plenty of evidence!

lucky you! I have the exact same phone and the photos are terrible, my 13 pro takes better photos!

have you altered the settings on the camera?

try taking a photo of something with writing on it….

Hey mate you basically take a photo on the main camera and when you zoom into corners and especially when it’s text, the quality is horrid. I have taken photos with my iPhone 11 Pro Max, 13 pro, 14 pro max and 16 pro max, and it’s actually gotten worse from 14 onwards. For example i use the IP13P for work and I have to take photos of a specific sheet with serial numbers and a a few values which i have to eventually enter into a spreadsheet and thi sis how i came across it when i has to zoom in i noticed how terrible the main lens was. Ill show you a couple of my comparisons below:

I'm having the same problems as everyone else. Apple, please fix this! I was so excited for the upgraded camera features on the iPhone 16 pro, but turns out I can't even take a simple, clear photos. So disappointing. I should have kept my iPhone 12.

Hello,

I have the same issue with my iPhone 16 Pro. I returned it to an  reseller, and they replaced camera and everything (except the battery and screen). However, the problem with blurry images still persists. For now, I’ve decided not to return it again, at least not yet.

What’s even more surprising is that two employees at the reseller store had the same issue on their iPhone 16 Pro, and they weren’t even aware of it. That makes me wonder how many more people haven’t noticed this problem yet.

Honestly, it’s quite embarrassing for the brand that a flagship iPhone takes worse photos than a 10-year-old model. I might try returning it at an official  store or request a full refund at the reseller and either buy a 15 Pro or wait for the 17 Pro. This is unacceptable, and it’s frustrating that no one seems to be talking about it, except here...