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

You are correct; the wide lens can’t focus any closer on the 13 Pro or Pro Max than it can on the 13.

That is why for macro purposes the Pro/Pro Max will (by default) automatically switch to using the ultra wide lens which can focus closer.

So it’s not an issue because only the Pro/Pro Max promised macro capability and it is provided via the ultra wide lens.

You can of course disable the “Auto Macro” setting on the Pro/Pro Max and go back to not being able to focus closer than 6” or so unless you manually select the ultra wide lens.

This is by design, it’s not a “bug” or issue.

You’re upset because the device you bought doesn’t do what it was never promised or advertised to be able to do.

Macro photography is in essence close up photography.  However, close up photography is not always considered as true macro photography.

If the subject you are photographing is small and you want to make it look big, you end up with a “macro” view of a “micro” subject. This is macro (micro) photography. Macro photography is taken with a dedicated macro lens.

Close up photography is the act of photographing objects in close range so the subject you are photographing fills the frame. In other words, it’s the act of photographing subjects close up. This is easily achievable with any lens.

The iPhone 13 mini - having a standard lens - is incapable making closeups that are in focus. This is sad.

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 samarjeddah.

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You seem to imply it was done deliberately where it is far more likely it was done in favor of other benefits.

Apple doesn’t specify focal lengths per se but if you look at the EXIF data they specify focal length “equivalents.”

For example:

Few to no other reports of apps freezing or shutting off.........How about the pictures app freezing at least once a day. Same with Facebook. Got to shut the phone down and reboot. My banking apps shutting off in the middle of a transaction. My music freezing. Holiday video on Christmas where the video skips. Plus the massive problem trying to take a close up photo when my 8 plus did just fine, and my husbands Se that takes beautiful photos. I did not return the phone thinking I needed to learn something new since I had an 8 plus. Now it's too late and I'm stuck with this huge mistake. Let's all iphone 13 uses try to explain this to the genius bar. I called tech support and spent over an hour with a "specialist" in another country who had to keep putting me on hold while she looked a fix up in her handbook. There was no fix. Yes the updates are done. Yes the apps are updated. I still have my 8 plus that was starting to overheat. Now this phone gets hot. Take the case off they say, we use a case for a reason. I'm tempted to go back to my 8 plus and try to unload this piece of junk.

Here you have an example, one taken with iPhone X at its minimum focusing distance and the other with the 13 Pro matching the framing. How is the photo of the 13 Pro better? Is it sharper? Does it have more detail? Does it have any kind of depth?

Now, I 100% agree that the 13 Pro can get the sharpest macro photos; those that it was advertised for. They're absolutely incredible. For me, the 13 cameras are excellent, I couldn't be more happier with them. However, the topic of discussion here is a very specific "issue", the one that is described in the original question. And for that application, you will not get the same results even if you buy a Pro model. That's it. What's wrong with that?

Dogcow-Moof said: "Of course I can come up with circumstances where that is not true as well"

Which circumstances? The ones that people are reporting here as an "issue". If you're going to recommend the Pro as an alternative solution, you should point out that for this specific application that is being discussed, the result will not be the same; although it is a lot better for other applications.

You need to zoom out or manually switch to wide angle lens, in order to be able to focus at 8-10cm range.

The issue is it's not doing what you expected it to do, it's not failing to do anything Apple said it would do.

The focus issue is ONLY in the PHOTO mode and is less a problem in the other ones (Pano, Portrait, Video, etc...)

No, you need to turn Auto Macro on iPhone 13 Pro or manually change to the wide angle camera. To change to auto macro:

Setting > Camera > Auto Macro on

Then sell your iPhone 13 and use the money to purchase something else.

It's clear you won't be happy with it.

Agreed. Some people here seem to be fiercely defending Apple's decision on not including what was capable by older modules in their new line.

Have the exact same problem on my iPhone 13. Doesn’t want to focus and make a close up

Hey lobsterghost1 we are not talking about macro capabilities. Even cheap phones can do closeup focus shot so why not iphone 13 . Macro shots is just advance feature that iphone 13 doesn’t have but that doesn’t means we have to compromise in normal closeup focus shots feature

OP is simply referring to close up shots, nearly every phone on the market right now can take clear close up shots. We aren’t talking about macro photography. It isn’t that hard to realize what OP meant 🤦🏻‍♀️