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

Again, the point is what can be done in a earlier generation phones cannot be done with the new. Not talking about Pro models here. If you know for a fact that that Apple chose to change the focal length of the camera so that it would not focus as the previous models, they chose wrong.

Since you seem to show extensive knowledge about Apple's technical decision-making process, do you also know the exact focal length of the iPhone 13 camera lens/es how that compare to the previous models ?

Defending? No. Explaining what is possible on the current iPhone 13 in comparison to the 13 Pro models? Yes. It doesn't really matter what was on previous phones. Different camera systems altogether. All that matters today, is what is available on iPhone 13 vs iPhone 13 Pro.

I do not know the exact focal length of iPhone 13. If you want to get a pretty close estimate, take your iPhone and focus on a subject to the height it can focus clearly, then measure the distance with a ruler and you'll have a good idea.

I don't like the phone at all. I have the 13 , my daughter the 13 pro. We tried to do self-timer photos and photos triggered from my watch for Christmas. There is nothing special about this phone. They are blurry. The photo app constantly freezes. The updated app's constantly just shut off. The iphoto videos from Christmas skip. I've been with Apple since the 5. I'm stuck with this.

I am in the same boat as you. Quite disappointed with Apple's latest iPhone release. One would expect to buy the cream of the cream. Unfortunately, the cream went sour...I will definetely have to rethink my next cell phone buy.

Yes, I have the iPhone 13 and I confirm that it is unable to focus on objects closer then 15 cm from the lens. I have attempted to take a picture of a label with some writings on it and in order to get the text clear I had to keep a distance of about 15 cm.

It seems that the Macro Lens feature is missing from 13 and 13 mini and also focus is disabled from software.

So, unless Apple decides it wants to change that and allow the poor people with 13 and 13 mini to take close ups, things won't change.

Your phone is good Samirre it's just that close-ups are software disabled.

Please point me into the direction where I can find documented the physical limitation of smartphone lenses focusing closer than 15 cm from the subject. With the risk of repeating something which you have read a lot of times by now from different users: previous iterations of the main camera on iPhones took close ups, and they were actually quite good (eg. iPhone 6, iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone X).

Also, please show me an official documentation or statement from Apple's side which specify that "iPhone 13 is NOT software disabled from taking Macro Photos".

If you can't offer any official statements on any of the above two matters, than your words are pure opinions and speculations and you should stop from spreading falsehoods.

And I will say again: smartphones (S M A R T P H O N E S /ˈsmɑːtfəʊns/) do not need an Ultra Wide camera to take closeups.

[Edited by Moderator]

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.

I also have a 13 ( not the pro version) and the camera is pretty much useless at close range. The only way you can take a closeup is by zooming in but, this is digital zoom so the pictures don't come out good. The camera has a 'zoom out' function which enables the wide angle but I don't find it useful as much as having the ability to take closeup pictures.

If it was a big issue for people, they probably should have checked the specifications easily viewed on the iPhone Specifications list at www.apple.com. There they'd have learned if they wanted to take macro photos (closeup means the same), they should have bought a 13 Pro or 13 Pro Max, which specifically is listed with Macro photography capability. The Pro models will always include features the non-Pro models don't. That's why they cost more.

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.

Product specifications change.

A larger sensor means a larger minimum focus distance.

Apple's 14 day return policy allows purchasers to discover issues like this and to return the phone if it doesn't meet their needs.

It doesn't matter what past iPhones could or couldn't do.

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.

lobsterghost1 wrote:

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.

Same here; the macro photos from the 13 Pro Max rival those taken with the macro lens I have for my DSLR.

Of course I can come up with circumstances where that is not true as well, but again, most of the time it's simply incredible what's coming out of my phone.

I understand what this conversation is about. And the fact is iPhone 13 is simply not capable of doing what iPhone 13 Pro can. Showing the difference between iPhone X and 13 Pro is not the issue. What a phone from a few generations ago does not compare.

This year, is the first year Apple chose to make such a major distinction between the pro and non-pro cameras. There is nothing to gain by comparing a previous generation phone to this years phone.

I'm not telling you to deny that fact. But you should take into consideration that most people here are indeed comparing their current experience with what they had before. In that context, it's relevant to say that they should not expect to achieve the same results in this specific situation that is being discussed. That is if your intention is to help the ones posting here and not simply giving facts just because.