Camera on IPhone 12 Pro Max not focusing

So far it is not clear whether this a software problem, or whether it is a inherent limitation in the 12 Pro Max camera system. Whatever the case may be, it is a shame that Apple’s flagship iPhone is exhibiting such issues. As a loyal Apple user for over 30 years, I do find it’s discouraging that Apple’s flagship phone can’t focus as close as the other iPhones in the 12 series, or indeed as close as previous generation iPhones. I do wish Apple would clarify this issue.

Hi Guys,

I am from India

I am also experiencing auto focus issues for close up objects for all environments whether indoor or outdoor

It is always a hit or a miss for me

I paid a whooping $1800 for my 12 pro max here in India.I am utterly disappointed

Its a shame for Apple’s such expensive devices to exhibit this behaviour

I couldn’t agree more and will be returning my 12 pro max ASAP and will wait for Apple to try to address this issue.

in the meantime I’ll enjoy my 11 pro Max that I can actually get close photos with 👌🏼

Happens on both Pro models so I'm surprised the in-store 12 pro worked for you.

I have the iphone 12 pro and had this problem out of the box. Definitely got frustrated when I had to take a picture of my ID and spent like 15 minutes trying to take a decent close up. I ended up just taking a photo further away and cropping it. Not really what I expect nor should be doing with a $1,000 USD phone that markets having the best camera.

Fingers crossed their next update fixes it. If not, I'll definitely be returning this under warranty.

it seems that on iPhone 11 Pro Max you can focus at about 8 cm and with the 12 pro max you need to go to at least 13 cm..

i really hope it is some kind of a software bug because it feels like a downgrade...

100% I already am using my iPhone 11 Pro Max again. I felt disabled with the 12pro Max. Unbelievable for a $1400 phone. I really hope they are able to fix it. In the meantime I am returning my 12pro Max.

Is anyone from Apple looking at this thread?????

Guys can we not do something to bring this annoying issue to Apple’s attention ?????

I want Apple’s official statement on this issue and confirm to us users who have spent their hard earned money whether it’s a hardware issue or bug and whether Apple’s gonna fix the same through updates or swapping new devices

I totally agree! I just returned my phone until I hear about a sure solution. This is so frustrating especially when I need a full functioning camera daily. Very dissatisfied.

Hopefully Apple addresses the issue ASAP

I have the same issue and now I’ve heard the official statement from Apple... It’s not a software issue. It’s the larger lense. The macro focusing distance is larger than on 11 Pro Max, and also than 12 and 12 Pro, because of the larger lense.

I called Apple support last week and the guy took the questions to the Apple engineers. Called med back this week with the answer that the fact that the 12 Pro Max cannot focus as close to a subject as the previous models is due to the larger lense. It’s the lense itself and not a software issue.

I asked him if he could forward the email that the engineers had sent to him, so that I could feature the mail in my YouTube-video, but that wasn’t possible. Apple will be putting this info up on their webpage in some way, and they wanted the facts to come straight from them and not from any other source.

I’m making a follow up video on the issue and will be releasing it tomorrow I hope. Until then this is my initial video, when I first discovered the difference between focus on the 11 Pro Max and 12 Pro Max:

https://youtu.be/cSOPV8jJZCQ

In every other regard, the camera on the 12 Pro Max is better (compared to 11 Pro Max, which is quite frankly the only phone it should be compared to since this is the first year that we’re getting a difference between cameras on Pro and Pro Max). Way better low light performance, faster focus etc. Just not being able to focus as close up, which is quite important for me because of the nature of my channel 🤷‍♂️

So can someone officially from Apple let us know if this is a hardware or software issue?

If it's a software issue, I'll wait, but if this is a hardware issue, I'm trading my iphone for a Samsung Android. I'm so sick of Apple charging an arm and a leg for a defective product.

Unbelievable they made such a huge error on a flagship phone. Thankfully I returned my 12 pro max and will keep using my 11pro Max which I can actually take close up photos with. If Apple was smart they would try to come up with a solution for this problem. I’m sure there will be lots of returns. This is a key feature for so many content creators.

Apple should come out with some software tweaks to compensate for such hardware limitations.

How can they remain silent after a lot of hue and cry from the consumers like us?

Especially when they charge so heavily for a phone and tout its camera and claim it to be a flagship

Yes I found the same issue on day 1. However if you use the wide angle lens it will work sort of

I use my phone to copy labels from computers tablets phones and this is the way I found for to get something readable

btw I expect they will fix this along with the Bluetooth issue as well

I have the exact same issue. Mine is also an iPhone 12 Pro Max, my old device (Galaxy S8) is able to focus closer to objects than the iPhone. Did you guys also noticed it on the frontal camera? It seems it is not being able to focus properly when getting a little bit closer.

I had the same issue and contacted support.

The response was "the device has a larger camera sensor and optics so the macro focus distance (MFD, or minimum focus distance) was increased compared to other iPhone 12 or iPhone 11 devices." This means, iPhone 12 pro max cannot focus close up!! my old iPhone 10 max was able to take focused photo. Huge huge disappointment. This is a total downgrade, not an upgrade for me as I need to take close up shots for my work.