iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Blurry and Out of Focus

It did not take better photos, but perhaps the 12 took photos more suited for your use case.

From resolution to detail the 15 Pro/Pro Max camera is demonstrably better, as shown in multiple independent reviews.

If you are using digital zoom at all… don't do that.

We tried. It's either the 14-day free return or Apple simply says it's working as intended. Some staff will say it's a software issue, thus you have to wait for a fix. However, there is no fix coming anytime soon.

It's not doing anything wrong, it's working as designed.

However, if you don't like the processing, you can take photos in ProRAW mode or use a third party app like Halide or Lightroom to shoot in true RAW mode and then apply your own processing afterwards.

• About Apple ProRAW - Apple Support
• Take Apple ProRAW photos with your iPhone camera - Apple Support

You may also make your thoughts known to Apple here:

Feedback - Camera - Apple

My experience so far

bought iPhone 15 pro max in January. Restored from iCloud back up. Took pics and noticed instantly that main camera photos are out of focus in good lighting. Selfie camera worse than a 200 dollar phone. Did full reset and started as new same story.

finally took it to Apple… Genius Bar folks acted as if this is first time they heard that complaint. They took a picture and said it doesn’t look bad. I picked up their demo camera and took same shot from both phones. Demo photo was vibrant n clear mine sucked from same angle. They admitted the difference and agreed to change the phone. New phone opened there only and set up as new quickly to take pics. Pictures taken from new phone way better than one I exchanged… but still not as bright as the demo phone though still much better than before and if this was the initial device wouldn’t have complained to be honest.

still it bugged me how demo was taking still better pics. They called another expert from inside who came and played with some white balance in advance settings of the phone which are on the phone and I saw for the first time….

after his tweaks main camera became almost similar to demo but selfie still remained lower to demo photo

he said demo phones have demo software which runs the display at highest brightness nits non stop which makes the picture look better. He said that can’t be achieved by user software. Kinda made sense

now the new device is taking much better pics than before but I’m still surprised Apple would make demos look better

this can be grounds for misleading advertisement. But this is thorough information

also they said cameras are made by two different vendors hence the difference in camera from first phone

sayadil wrote:

It’s not good for people to keep resetting and restoring the devices when the problem may lie with the phone itself.

Resetting and restoring the phone causes no wear to the phone whatsoever, so it's incorrect to assert it's "not good."

Yes, it's a hassle, but it doesn't damage anything.

sayadil wrote:

This does not address the issue.

some phones have camera hardware issues. You can improve that by getting the phones exchanged from Apple Store. Even if ur over the 14 day policy you can show them the grainy camera pictures and ask them to change it under warranty.

Like anything made by humans, some iPhones do have issues, which is why I keep repeating that if you feel yours has an issue, get it checked and Apple will make a determination.

I replaced my device via apple.com just because we have a free 14 days return policy (I'm in Portugal, we don't have Apple Store here). Today I receive replacement and guess what? Same blurry photos but this time it comes with friend — scratch on display in a brand new device. What a frustrating experience. And moreover I don't see the refund button in my order maybe because it's already replacement device. Nice.

I’m starting to wonder if this isn’t more of a user problem than a phone problem. The vast majority of people simply haven’t encountered 48mp before; it’s quite unforgiving if your shooting technique is not exact. It tends to amplify the smallest mistakes, and it takes some time to get used to. People were saying the same thing when Nikon released the d800 (36mp) some years ago, and I experienced it myself at the time. IMHO that’s all this is.

If your iPhone 15 Pro Max photos are out of focus, you need to select a more appropriate focus point manually.

Use iPhone camera tools to set up your shot - Apple Support

As always, look at the information for your photo in Photos to make sure no digital zoom was in use when the photo was taken:

If your photos look like that, make an appointment to have your phone examined as it is not true of other iPhone 15s.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Maheshmali wrote:

I also facing this problem apple! When i open my camera preview image is really cool but when I click it after clicking image is really blurry , grainy and bad it’s like I clicked in some low end device. lol someone please tell me is it hardware issue or software issue? Because I am very afraid I hardly adjust a money for this phone and this happened with me camera working really bad front and back both same situation please apple help me for this issue

Apple does not read here in this user-to-user forum for feedback or suggestions. You can let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

If you want actual technical support from Apple, start here:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

JackThr1ll3r wrote:

Unfortunately I bought it a month and half ago…at this point yes, if it’s just one day old you could return it

I wasn't responding to you. I was responding to someone who explicitly said they bought it a day ago.

You will need to work through this under the warranty:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

bruyere12 wrote:

Same issue, shocked and appalled. Anyone know who we take this to, apart from this forum? Support wants me to reset my phone, going to the Genius bar, but doubt that will help because their protocol is to treat it like a single phone issue, not a global issue that needs a fix. Open to ideas, and happy to go big and high to get help!

Product Feedback - Apple

snoltens wrote:

I’m getting AppleCare to protect my investment.

My 90 day warranty expires on the 22nd.

Apple's warranty on hardware is one year, not 90 days. And, you generally only have 60 days from the date of purchase to add Apple Care. So you may already be out of luck if you haven't already purchased it.

AppleCare Products - iPhone - Apple

What is 90 days is the phone support:

Apple Complimentary Support - Official Apple Support

Also, a phone is not, in the generally understood sense, an investment. It will never appreciate in value.

alex_ccab wrote:

Apparently Apple doesn’t read this forum. I’ve been in contact with support who claimed weeks ago they knew about problems. But haven’t heard anything since. And no software update has so far changed anything.

If you look at the terms and conditions you agreed to when you joined this site, it specifically states that.

This forum is for Apple users to help other Apple users solve technical issues.

Apple does not read these forums except to monitor threads for adherence to those same terms and conditions.

If you want Apple to look into something, contact Apple Support directly:

Contact - Official Apple Support

Alternatively, you can leave feedback, which is read by those who decide whether there are issues to address, at the link below:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

As far as third-party sites, DxOMARK considers the iPhone 15 Pro / 15 Pro Max's cameras the best of any device sold for use in the United States, and they got rave reviews from the creators of the Halide photo app.

That's not to dismiss your concerns, but rather to say I have had no issues with mine and if you are concerned about your particular phone, make an appointment to have it examined:

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple