iPhone 15 Pro Max Photos Blurry

I’ve gone from a 13 pro max to a 15 pro max. Used my 13 for taking photos at gigs / concerts. Fast moving low light. Always used live mode and used to get some pretty good, in focus shots. Was excited to start using my 15, but the photos are appallingly bad. So blurry, even in good light with the subject relatively still. When zoomed in the resolution is so bad all of the detail is lost and it looks worse than some photos I used to get from my old Nokia 95 decades ago. Also the sound quality on videos is nowhere near as good. Sounds very dull and tinny compared to 13 pro max. So disappointed. Considering returning it and going back to 13.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 17

Posted on Sep 30, 2023 8:12 PM

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Posted on Oct 3, 2023 1:42 PM

Any updates on this?

Me and my wife are both coming from iPhone 11 Pro which had amazing camera, both our iPhones 15 Pro Max take blurry, out of focus pictures, even in full sunlight.

Is this something that started with iPhone 14 and new, bigger camera sensor and is normal for all 15’s or is there something with our both 15s Pro max?

78 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Oct 3, 2023 1:42 PM in response to Strummersphotog

Any updates on this?

Me and my wife are both coming from iPhone 11 Pro which had amazing camera, both our iPhones 15 Pro Max take blurry, out of focus pictures, even in full sunlight.

Is this something that started with iPhone 14 and new, bigger camera sensor and is normal for all 15’s or is there something with our both 15s Pro max?

Dec 19, 2023 7:32 PM in response to lobsterghost1

It does take fantastic photos as long as you use the wide lens and the tele lens, but not the mid-range. I had same blurry results on the new iPhone 15 Pro Max I bought. I'm a pro photographer for thirty years. Never seen the iPhone fail to find focus (on a page with lines on it three feet away), or turn mushy clarity in the mid range lenses. It's horrible. Worse than the iPhone 14. Tony Northrup shows you why at 8:38 minutes in on his YouTube https://youtu.be/AsRmEc26Yc4?si=o6oPbwIy_e6ERvZI

Sep 30, 2023 8:55 PM in response to Strummersphotog

I have the exact same issue.

At the moment, I have my old iPhone 14 Pro, so I was able to compare them side by side. The difference was huge.

Took them both into the Apple store, they verified the issue and said 'wow, that's weird', hemmed and hawed for a couple hours, told to me to call Apple support, then sent me on my way.

Called Apple support 20 minutes later. Support rep also verified the issue when I pointed it out to her. More hemming, and then get told my options are to do a return (without an authorization hold), or do a DFU-level restore and not restore old data to it.

I love everything else about the phone, so I chose the latter. Aaaaand the issue is still there. Great. My support contact gave me an escalation line to use for the return process, so I used it, and then was told that I would need to do an express replacement, which would put an authorization hold on my card of choice. 🤦

I was also told that my only other option was to go through Verizon for a replacement


So YMMV, but definitely try

Nov 11, 2023 2:00 PM in response to Strummersphotog

I am having the same issue! I’ve taken video at literally a hundred concerts. The iPhone 15 Pro Max videos and photos are worse than ones that I took with my 6S, and much worse than with my 13. Apple, please help I feel like I own a $1500 brick.

this is an example of video I took last night, remember, I’ve done this 100 times with older phones and never have seen such poor performance.

Dec 19, 2023 7:28 PM in response to awhigs

I had same blurry results on the new iPhone 15 Pro Max I bought. I'm a pro photographer for thirty years. Never seen the iPhone hunt for focus (on a page with lines on it three feet away), or turn mushy clarity in the mid range lenses. It's horrible. Worse than the iPhone 14. Tony Northrup shows you why at 8:38 minutes in on his YouTube https://youtu.be/AsRmEc26Yc4?si=o6oPbwIy_e6ERvZI

Dec 4, 2023 4:17 PM in response to Strummersphotog

I am facing the same issue with my brand new 15 pro max 512 GB, I have found a way that fixes it. Going into the settings > Camera > photo mode > change to 12 mp.


The selfies on the 12 mp setting look a 100 times better than with the 24 mp option turned on. Hope this helps some of you guys! And apple please fix it, this is laughable stuff from such an expensive device

Oct 4, 2023 10:53 PM in response to Strummersphotog

What improved this issue for me was changing my camera settings format from “most compatible” to “high efficiency”. I noticed that my new phone was shooting jpgs instead of heics when I airdropped pics to my computer to compare them to my old phone bc they were so horrendous. I also tried turning off “portraits in photo mode” but upon further testing, it was the format that made the difference for me. Hope this improves the issue for someone else

Nov 11, 2023 8:53 AM in response to Vegan Advocate

Vegan Advocate wrote:


lobsterghost1 wrote:

I have a 15 Pro Max and it takes FANTASTIC photos, so it can't be a Max issue.
I agree, seems to be a minority and I wonder about the shooting conditions etc too

Me too. Are they using the right camera for the scene they are taking a picture of? Have they read this link to get the best results out of the cameras on their iPhone --> About the Camera features on your iPhone - Apple Support


Sure, these are point and shoot cameras, but they are NOT like the cameras on iPhone from years ago, where there was only one camera and few camera settings to capture the best photos.

Dec 19, 2023 7:51 PM in response to i_Mike

I had same blurry results on the new iPhone 15 Pro Max I bought. I'm a pro photographer for thirty years. Never seen the iPhone hunt for focus (on a page with lines on it three feet away), or turn mushy clarity in the mid range lenses. It's horrible. I took it back. It's worse than the iPhone 14. It's the first time Apple's disappointed me. They rushed this to market with an obvious flaw. Tony Northrup shows you why at 8:38 minutes in on his YouTube https://youtu.be/AsRmEc26Yc4?si=o6oPbwIy_e6ERvZI





I took my iPhone 15 back to the Apple store to alert them of this flaw. Kevin, the manager at the Pasadena Apple store, tried to debunk everything I brought up. I showed him the Northrup video. Didn't glance at it. He said there are plenty of positive reviews on the internet and it's just the same old thing that happens every year when Apple releases something new. A bunch of guys criticize the product and it's just what they do. Not this time. This is a FLAW. There are not FLAWS allowed at $1,500. What I wanted him to say was that Apple was aware of it and there's a fix coming in January of 2024. But he continued to dismiss the issue. The store did give me a refund but it's not the money. It's the fact that Apple would rush a product to market with flaws. The Apple engineers have done remarkably well for decades. The pressure must be intense. I guess I can allow them one stumble. (I hope the marketing department is not starting to run the show at the expense of a great product.) I hope the next iPhone hits the mark next year. Meantime, I'm buying an iPhone 13 Pro Max off the internet to replace the one I traded in when I got the 15. And I'll spend the $1500. on a lens for my Canon mirrorless for telephoto shots.

iPhone 15 Pro Max Photos Blurry

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