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Blurry pics on iPhone 14 Pro Max (iOS 16.0.2)

I just got the new phone few days ago (for the better cameras compared to 13 Pro Max), and surprisingly the pics quality is blurry!

If I use the main camera when choosing 'vivid' mode, after the pic is taken , it takes 3-4 more seconds to do the post-processing! You can see the pic changing contrast, light etc in 2-3 times during that time interval of 3-4 seconds. The result at the end is not as good as I had with 13 Pro Max - which did the processing WHILE taking the pics and not after...


If I chose the 'standard' mode, the pics are better than in vivid mode, but still if you zoom just a little the details get lost! If you dont zoom, some areas of the pic seem clear and others blurry!


I did everything I could do from my side, cleaned the lens, updated to 16.0.2 as I mention in the title and I dont know what else to do :/


Any help on this please?

iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS 16

Posted on Oct 7, 2022 12:37 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 28, 2022 6:38 AM

FIXED IT! (Sort of…)


Basically, two things are at play here:


1) Apples Image Processing (and the QUAD PIXEL sensor technology is mostly at fault.)


2) The way the camera’s are programmed by default.


The first issue is the main root of the problem. The quad pixel sensor technology reduces the amount of resolution depending on how much light is needed on the image. Basically: Low light, sensor clusters pixels together to capture as much light as possible, you end up with at 7MP RAW image from the main camera, as opposed to the 48MP expected resolution (happened to me several times now.)


Here is an example of this issue:



The second issue at fault is that , specially for subjects that are closer than 1ft or so, the native camera app at 1x zoom switches from the main camera, to the ultrawide camera because the main camera can focus that close. It’s not too much of a big deal, since most people shoot subjects further away than 1ft. But it’s good to be aware of that.


To fix it (sort of) you unfortunately have to use a 3rd party app like HALIDE to override the software on the camera module and prevent it from doing the QUAD Pixel rubbish that makes a 48MP sensor output a blurry 7MP image. Even in low light, from my experience, HALIDE still provides better looking pictures, that are actually 48MP.

433 replies

Jan 18, 2023 5:27 PM in response to Overratedapples

Two days ago MaxTech

posted a head to head review against two other phones on the pro level. The 14 PM lost. I had to agree photo to photo with the professional photographers they had looking at the ~30 different categories of photos with a few videos sprinkled in. Meanwhile I can’t get all of a lasagna to be in focus. Sorry it is a screen shot to drop the size

Feb 7, 2023 12:46 PM in response to JoLana49

Exactly!! I was so desperate I was going to try to get a 12 and I would have to pay in addition to what I owe for the 14pro. And I refuse to do that. So I’m stuck. I feel sick that I upgraded and even worse that there’s no solution in sight at this time. It’s terrible.

here’s an example of what it does.

These were taken inside (where the camera seems the worst with processing), about 2 PM. NOT dark or even low light. Natural light coming in, near a window. Both me and the dog were still. Although you may not believe that based on the photos!!! All still. The camera was still. The preview showed a clear picture. Then I opened the camera roll. Literally. Going. Crazy.

if you zoom in even the smallest amount on the face you can clearly see how awful it looks!!!

Feb 7, 2023 1:13 PM in response to Ppeye

That can’t be possible? I’m looking at them right now. The picture is blurred, details are crushed and the face is not clear or crisp in any way. Focus also shouldn’t be on the nose as it wasn’t set there so that doesn’t make sense either.

apple support and techs have confirmed there is an issue with the pictures and they also see the blur, noise, no clarity, over sharpening etc. so I’m not sure how you can be seeing a good picture in those examples. 😭

Feb 10, 2023 12:01 PM in response to craigy3

posting the original, untouched and two zoomed in shots of the same picture of a client cat this pro phone produced this morning.

plenty of light, NO movement of cat or camera.

unreal.

this will just happen and when it does NOTHING I do can fix it. It’s a blurry mess. I’m well within minimum focus distance, subject and camera were still and preview showed a clear shot. Focus box was around face. Not low light in any way. But was inside. Which apparently the camera can’t handle.

The result is crazy. And because I have to take animal pictures for work, this is a nightmare and I want to cry honestly. Can’t believe I’m stuck with this!!!!

Apr 10, 2023 4:03 PM in response to Gesi22

Alright look at this. I took a photo of grapes in natural light. (Or I should say, attempted to) it came out terrible of course. So I said to my husband hey let me use your phone (he has an iPhone 7 lol) you won’t believe the differences in the photos. I will upload them- iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 7 Plus

Here are the details side by side when I zoomed in (this photo was taken with my mother’s iPhone 12)

7 on the left, 14 on the right. The difference is crazy if you really zoom in. Also, this photo really highlights the “muddy” colors of the 14 pro max as well. My husbands iPhone 7 Plus photo shows the colors so much more true to life!

Oct 16, 2022 3:16 AM in response to Gesi22

Yes I’m having the same problem with my IPhone 14 pro too. It’s definitely to do with the autofocus and when I spoke to Apple, they told me autofocus cannot be switched off. It’s a shame because my XS produced better photo quality then this. Hopefully this gets fixed in the next update cause it’s ridiculous to have a camera like this for an over £1000 phone..

Oct 20, 2022 2:23 PM in response to Gesi22

Thank you for the link… I left a message there in feedback in bugs too.. and I even have it with the 16.0.3 update as of today. Oct 20th… still not focusing…


I also called Apple’s support and the rep said “it is a known issue” even after the 16.0.3 update… but it’s good to see it being mentioned here as well… and I told her “My iPhone 14 Pro Max’s camera will not focus!”


Such a shame … I hope they get on it and give us an update again fast


Thank you again very much for the link

Oct 20, 2022 6:29 PM in response to Gesi22

Same happening here! AT&T won’t take phone back to swap it back to my 12. Apple Store and Apple care + says it’s just how it is now. Photos are blurry and so much worse. They are noticeably grainier and low quality or over shadowed and saturated in blacks . Instagram now jumps to the side and very grainy. Really just want my old phone back this is harming my business of needing good photos from my phone and a really bummer no company will help facilitate getting on a lower model I don’t even want money back just an older model phone. The 14 Pro max is awful and I hope others don’t buy it and end up like us with no options

Oct 24, 2022 9:36 AM in response to Gesi22

Man I have the same problem. I bought my iPhone 14 Pro max 20 days ago and noticed something off, the moment I started capturing pictures. The pictures were not sharp and once I zoomed in , the detail was gone. That is when I compared it to my mother's iPhone 13 today. With the pro raw( 48mp) , the details are better on the 14 pro max when zoomed in but when I switched to the front camera, the 13 is sharp as I can see my beard very sharply but the 14 is just garbage. I live in India so we don't even have official apple stores (hence no returns and stuff) . All I can do is hope that it is a SW issue and will be fixed. The phone is literally 1800$ here (iPhone 14 Pro Max -256gb). I just really feel sad and disappointed as this is my first iPhone and I had great expectations. Let's all hope that it gets fixed in IOS 16.1 .

Oct 24, 2022 11:34 AM in response to Gesi22

Same issue. Shows up in multiple apps.

Readlle Scanner App Pro - Can't set to RAW so all images are out of focus unless I hold the camera back from the scanned item by at least 12 inches. The app expects the scanned item to almost fill the screen in order for it to "Auto-detect" the edges and take the photo. That means I am usually pretty close to the scanned item when on 1x. It supports 2x only so I select that but it is hit and miss if it works.

iPhone 14 Pro Max; 16.0.3 (20A392)

Filled a bug with Apple.

Blurry pics on iPhone 14 Pro Max (iOS 16.0.2)

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