iPhone 13 camera not focusing when capturing a photo 8-10 cm away

Jman4307 wrote:

I have the same issue with my regular iPhone 13 (non mini or pro) and have already given Apple feedback. My 8 and regular 11 could get TWICE as close as my 13 before image quality degraded. I had my buddy compare his regular 11 with iOS 14.8 and my regular 13 with iOS 15.1and it is clear as day the closeup capability of the 11 is much better. Hoping it's a software issue that Apple can resolve quickly. I can't see why Apple would put out ANY newer phone that is less capable than comparable older model.

It is NOT a software issue and it won't be resolved at all. iPhone 13 doesn't have a camera which is capable of focusing closer than you've already seen. That can't be fixed with a software update.

The iPhone 13 is advertised as a "better" camera. From what I find there is nothing that states it shouldn't be able to take generally up close photos. I only find things that say it cannot take macro photos.

I would argue it potentially is a software issues. There are already several issues with the camera software. I can take closer photos with other camera apps, like Lightroom, than I can with the built in camera software.

OP- I would suggest getting the photo focused as well as you can and then zooming in to get closer. You can also try another camera app, there are tons of great ones in the app store.

[Edited by Moderator]

What I wanted to find out is that if this is an issue only on a single device( mine). Now that its clear that this is not a "defect" but it is by design, the point is, what can be done in a earlier generation phones cannot be done with the new. The expectation of the newer generation device should be being able to to do what it's predecessors did and more. That fact that pro versions can do macro shots is irrelevant.

I recently upgraded to a new iphone 13 purchased directly from Apple (3 weeks ago). The camera is not nearly as good as the camera on my old 6s. I can not take closeups of small objects (mainly what I need the camera for) and get any kind of focus. The blurriness is absurd. It has been that way since it came out of the box.

• Not only can I not get the camera to focus at macro distance (2cm)...I can't get it to focus from a distance of even 16cm.
• Low light is not the issue
• Regular (distance) photos are fine, with normal ability to focus.
• I have read various things about accessing Macro mode. Some instructions say to go into camera settings and at the very bottom there is a Macro toggle. There is NO OPTION in my settings menu for Macro.
• Other sites say that Macro is engaged automatically if you just bring the camera that close to the subject. This does not work. Another site says you can force Macro by entering wide angle (0.5) mode. This also does not work.
• The camera will not focus on its own. In my old 6s, if you held your finger on the focus point, the camera would focus. That does not work. Some sites say to tap once, or tap repeatedly on the image. That also does not work.

What do I need to do to get my new iphone camera to take focused photos of small objects from a distance of 6 inches or less?

LuisCast18 wrote:

Previous iPhones did not advertised macro capabilities, but they were able to get closer to the subject than the 13s (non-pros). It’s not difficult to realize that people are not complaining about not being able to do what the Pros were advertised for, they’re complaining for not having something that they had before.

Also, as I said before, not even the pros can take good closeups that aren’t those 2cm macros. You get distorsion and the picture quality is worse compared to what you could get with previous iPhones main camera.

That's not true. I'm getting the absolute sharpest macro photos from my 13 Pro Max than I've EVER gotten from ANY previous iPhone I've ever owned.

I get that people "assumed" about getting the same closeup capability as previous models. But as Dogcow suggests above, things change from model to model year and this year it was a pretty big change. It's not usually a benefit to "assume" without research.

You have responded to many of the people complaining here, yet you feel that there’s no need to consider the context of the discussion. What’s the point of responding?

Yes, the iPhone 13 cannot and will not be ever able to take closeups as described here. I’ve never argued against that. And again, yes, the Pros can technically solve that problem. HOWEVER, they will deliver a worse result than previous iPhones (for this specific application, if it’s not yet clear). It’s relevant to clarify that given the context (already explained by many users).

I previously made the comparison to prove my point because you claimed that my statement was false. It’s not about the disappointment, I just added extra relevant information on top what you already said in case anyone is looking at the pros as a fix to this particular “issue”.

No.

This is by design and will not be "fixed" because it is not broken; it's something the optical systems on that model were not designed to do.

It’s quoted as 2 cm for the 13 Pro/Pro Max’s ultra-wide lens.

Apple does not specify a distance for the normal wide angle lens and does not specify a minimum focus distance for the 13/13 mini.

Hey samirre i also facing the same problem my iphone 13 doesn’t focus on close object and you know what even my other iphone 12 can do better than my iphone 13 in closeup shots from my prospective it is software glitch.

I have the same issue with my regular iPhone 13 (non mini or pro) and have already given Apple feedback. My 8 and regular 11 could get TWICE as close as my 13 before image quality degraded. I had my buddy compare his regular 11 with iOS 14.8 and my regular 13 with iOS 15.1and it is clear as day the closeup capability of the 11 is much better. Hoping it's a software issue that Apple can resolve quickly. I can't see why Apple would put out ANY newer phone that is less capable than comparable older model.

No, you don't understand that 8cm is Macro, 80cm is close-up

My Nikon cant go to 8cm.

Take a shot at 12cm and crop it.

The result will be infinitely better than iphone 6 at 8cm.

Before spending that kind of money, read the spec.

I'm quite sure your iPhone 13 takes in general far better pictures than an iPhone 8. Just think of Night Mode, something unfathomable on an iPhone 8. Your phone however, cannot take close-ups as closely. But as I demonstrated, iPhone 13 Pro can and does miraculously well. I own a Nikon DSLR and to be able to take close-up photos on it, I had to buy a very expensive Macro lens. In iPhone 13 Pro, it can take close-ups as well as my DSLR with a Macro lens and the iPhone itself, cost a lot less than my DSLR with the multiple lenses I need to take photos as well as I can with an iPhone.

Hi sammire, even I m facing same issue in iPhone 13. I was using iPhone 7 and I was able to take stunning photos from it. I checked on iPhone 11 and 12 also and I came to know that problems is only with 13 series. Even I m not getting proper support on this issue.

I have the same problem with my new iPhone 13 Mini. It does not focus on objects closer than 10cm. Taking macro shots is impossible. I thought it was a problem with my device but from what I see it is not. I think it is due to the larger sensor size than the older models. Macros have never been a problem on my iPhone XS.

I would like to know from Apple what is the minimum focus distance of the new iPhone 13/Mini (non pro) just to know if it's normal.

I don't honestly need to take anything into consideration. I don't work for Apple. I didn't design the new phones. No one here works for Apple. No one here designed the new phones. I did my research before I purchased my new iPhone and knew I wanted the macro photo capability, so iPhone 13 Pro for me. If others bought a phone with an expectation it would behave exactly as past phones did, that's on them.

I understand the disappointment, but there is no solution or help coming. Nothing will change the fact the hardware on iPhone 13 cannot support closeup photography. Expressing unhappiness with a feature that can't be be changed is not going to get anyone anything.