Front camera on new iPad Pro 13 M4 super grainy

Maybe I misrepresented myself in my earlier comment. What I meant by that is what I see when I zoom in on the image reminds me of early 2000 digital camera, at least to my memory. When I zoom in on the image from the iPad Pro, why does it look like I've used a watery-glass Adobe filter on it? And why is the image from my 2 year old iPhone camera so much more well-defined?

Unfortunately, showing me a list of specs does little for me and my non-tech-aware brain. I see words. If they aren't worth comparing, could you please still account in more basic terms why this might be? Again, as I said previously, the images I was seeing on my screen looked really quite clear on the iPad Pro. But it was only once I clicked the round photo button that what was actually 'captured' looked so much different. I may not be tech-savvy, but I can tell the difference between crisp and fuzzy, and I'm just very surprised that the quality would look so different between two devices, two years apart, especially when they are both considered top of their game.

But I'm still holding out that this is actually more of a software issue, hence why I included the photos, so that someone who fine-tunes these things could compare and see what I was seeing. I would love to be able to take photos of these things with my iPad Pro because it's a larger screen... If my two year-old iPhone outperforms the newest iPadPro, it sure doesn't make a case for me needing to upgrade the iPhone later this year, since apparently I still have the top of the line?

The simplest answer is what was already pointed out…the cameras in both devices are not the same therefore trying to compare the images from both to each other already has a negative against it because they generally won’t be equal. The iPad was never designed with a main focus on the cameras. It is not the device that most users would reach for regularly and in most situations to take their photos (convenience is a huge factor in that. Most users don’t have their iPads glued to them almost everywhere they go. iPhones however…or phones in general almost always are). The iPhone is absolutely designed with the cameras being a major focus with one of the goals being that the cameras are supposed to be theoretically so good that it becomes most users primary camera choice over traditional cameras. You have to remember that while the iPad Pro and the iPhone Pro Max are both considered the “top of the line” for their respective lines. That will never mean that they can be compared equally and expect both to perform equally. If your comparison had been with another iPad Pro (like the 4th gen M2) and you were seeing the issues you mentioned then yes…that would have been a much better comparison.

Also…basing your experience with the iPad and its camera shouldn’t have any impact on your decision to upgrade your iPhone later this year. Again, the cameras are not the same. That should be dependent on the details released about the new iPhone once that info is released and seeing if it offers enough benefits to make upgrading worth it for you. If the camera is the primary motivation for you to opt to upgrade that will be the information you will look at. And if the tech specs don’t really translate to understanding for you (which is the case for most users honestly) then seeing how it performs in real world situations compared to your current 14 Pro Max will be key.

My bad, I shouldn’t have jumped on this thread. In my thinking, it was still about the way the image looked to me on screen vs the output of final image once it’s been processed… the best I could show was the difference between the iPhone. It’s harder to show how good the image seems to look on my iPad Pro screen in real time vs a snapshot and the output second later. And perhaps that’s also somehow due to the light, but it really looks better in my opinion in the screen before a photo is taken (both rear and front facing).

Maybe what I would need to do is use my iPhone to take a video of the screen of the iPad Pro vs the snapshot?

Although, I see how my concern about rear facing muddies things still. Anyway, thanks for clarifying all.

I just picked up my 11 inch M4 iPad Pro yesterday and found the same thing everyone here is saying. Surprisingly low quality pictures taken with the front camera. Really hope this can be remediated with a software update.

That’s normal because screens are manually adjusted and many factors associated with what you’re seeing on the will not match the still or finished video.

I can turn up the brightness of a screen, but that doesn’t alter one bit the brightness of a video or still image.

I found exactly the same. The front camera is noisy/grainy, a marked step down from my previous (2018) iPad Pro. Surprised reviewers haven’t commented unless it only affects some units.

M1/4 iMac and iPhone 15 Pro front camera are much better for video call

Yup. OP complains M4 iPad Pro is worse than M1 (which also has the ultrawide Centre Stage camera). That shouldn’t be the case.

Do you have a couple of examples you can post? Ive asked in multiple threads but nobody has ever shared an image exhibiting the supposed issue(s).😀😀

Great, I’d really appreciate seeing an image or two.

Agreed. The saved image looks worse than live on screen.

While the screen is facing you, the 5th gen M1 IPad isn’t 4k camera for video any-longer. Is the 7th gen?

I just bought an 11” m4 and both cameras are horribly grainy. Has there been any kind of fix for this? Should I try a replacement?