iPhone 16 Pro Max Front Camera Blurriness

Hi,

I believe the issue of blurry photos taken by the front facing camera is caused by the following setting:

Settings > Camera > Portraits in Photo Mode

The description in this setting states: “Automatically capture depth information if a person, dog or cat is prominent in the frame in Photo mode so you can apply Portrait effects later.”

When this is enabled, you will see a portrait icon on the top left of each photo and have the possibility to retrospectively turn on portrait mode on your photos. However I believe even though this feature works well with the back camera, it’s causing problems for the front facing camera focus.

Photos were out of focus and blurry for me, but look fine now after disabling it so whoever is facing this issue please give this a go - hope it helps!

The iPhone 16 is a great piece of tech and I believe this is an iOS issue that’s causing this problem, I hope it gets fixed soon and I hope you all don’t get too frustrated over your new (and arguably the most expensive) devices because of this.

People are using apps that have not been updated for the new front camera in iPhone 16. Take a photo with the native camera app and please post the results. Every photo I take with the front camera on my iPhone 16 Pro Max is in focus. Here’s mine,

For solution follow the next steps:

1. Open Snapchat app

2. Swipe from right-top to below for opening control centre

3. In top of screens appaers: Snapchat controls and click on that.

4. Deselect Studio Light.

Problem solved!

If you believe it’s a fault with the front facing camera, return the camera to Apple for warranty service. My 16 PM works fine and is very sharp using the Apple Camera app. Third party apps and filters are an issue. People have even posted example in this thread and others illustrating the issue. Have you bothered to read the other posts and look at the examples in this thread?

Place blame wherever you want. But a path forward is clear. Millions of 16 Pro Max iPhones have front facing cameras that focus properly. A tiny few have malfunctioning front facing cameras. Take you iPhone to Apple and have them repair the camera under warranty.

Claps for you that your iPhone works fine. Like many other people have said, theirs do not.

I’ve already said that I’ve read through the other posts. It’s almost like we’re reading different things since you continue to deny people’s claims.

I’m not posting personal images at the demand of some random non-credentialed person on the internet to assess. Nice try, though. Additionally, I couldn’t care less for your feedback on any images I post. You’re not an expert.

I’m placing blame on Apple. Not sure why you’re so defensive of them.

Obviously I’ve taken my phone to the Apple Store already. Had a “professional” (a Genius Bar staff, not some faceless person on the internet) look at it and confirm that nothing on my phone is malfunctioning, no hardware or software issues were detected. Nothing to repair. He also confirmed that they’re receiving tons of reports/complaints regarding the camera quality on the new phones. I think I’ll trust the input of the real experts over some self-proclaimed Apple specialist.

This is a waste of my time going back and forth with some Apple simp on an internet thread. Reply how you want, you and our discussion are not worth my time and I won’t be reading any responses. I’ve said want I want to say about Apple’s new iPhone 16 Pro Max and I stand by my initial claims that the new cameras capture far less quality images compared to the older models (just like many other people have said). So, again, reply how you want, I’m done here and honestly should have never attempted to reason with an Apple simp anyway.

Repeating one more time so my stance is clear:

*Apple’s new iPhone 16 Pro Max takes grainy, blurry, terrible quality images. And, no, it’s not because we’re using Snapchat. The images are low-quality when taken with Apple’s built-in camera app. Previous iPhone models take much clearer photos. This is not an isolated incident, as many other people have shared the same experience.*

Not sure why you have to resort to personal attacks. I’m a stooge, I work for Apple, I’m a simp. Nice words not sure you’re motivation either. Plenty of gorilla marketing since the start of the www.

You don’t get it that Apple doesn’t read these threads in the forums. If you want any kind of successful resolution, take your iPhone to Apple, demonstrate the issue, and open a support ticket. That’s the proof Apple or anyone else needs. Get your device fixed if it’s truly an issue. Posting on the internet won’t help your cause at.

Apple has created special service programs for issues in the past, including some cameras on iPhone 14 Plus models.

iPhone 14 Plus Service Program for Rear Camera Issue - Apple Support

How did that get created? By people taking their iPhone to Apple and letting them run diagnostics and creating support tickets. But like all things in life, there are the problem solvers and there are those that stand on the sidelines and just observe, unwilling to participate in the process. But more than willing to whine, but put no effort into solving potential the issues.

Check out social media Apps for example WhatsApp, Instagram, especially Snapchat.

it looks like that everything that does not use the native camera SDK view is affected.

however, by now, I also found out that Snapchat is not even optimized for the iPhone 15 Pro.

so I guess it’s an ongoing software problem with the pro model.

it looks like a lot of developers have not adapted yet

It’s the Snapchat app, not your camera. Make sure you’re using the latest version of Snapchat.

Snapchat has updated their app 8 times in the last month and 3 times in just the last week. All the updates list bug fixes. What does that tell you about the quality of their app?

If the issue persists after updating please contact Snapchat support for assistance.

Me too!!! At the beginning of December I "upgraded" from iPhone 15 to iPhone 16 Pro.

Initially I thought I had a defective model, so I went to the Apple Store (Carosello, Italy) to do some comparison tests: thanks to the helpfulness of the staff, I was able to take several photos with the devices present in the showroom, also trying different software settings, and the result was shocking: all the iPhone 16 Pros have the same very low image quality.

Look at the posts in this thread. My front camera on iPhone 16 PM is fine. Images exhibit no blurriness, and the noise grain is dependent on the light levels. This is nothing new.

If your Apple Camera app is producing poor results, post an example or two with the image information.

This is not Apple Support. I’m just a user like you. Apple Support Community is a public discussion forum for fellow Apple users to assist each other and share tips and solutions. Apple hosts the community, but is not a participant and will never read your comment. If you would like to leave feedback for Apple please use the link below.

Product Feedback - Apple

Yes, some cameras may have errors and if you suspect your camera does, take it to Apple for service. That’s how things get fixed and you can move on.

But there are three iPhone 16 PM in my household and none exhibit the issue. The one user that uses third party apps does have blurry selfies. But switch to Camera app and they are sharp as a tack. What does that tell you?

If you think everyone is a dozen or two posters in this thread is nearly everyone, you’re mistaken. None of the major reviewers on YouTube, internet or mainstream media are mentioning this.

The path forward is clear. If you think your camera is defective get it fixed under warranty and quit whining.

Please read the thread you posted in. The issue is Instagram needs to update their app.

You can do a test yourself. Shot a live video using the native Apple Camera app. Then shoot the same scene/selfie with the Instagram Live app. Then share the links to the videos.

There’s an old saying among photographers. Show me the photos or it never happened. Post examples or this is pure speculation.

Have you talked to Apple Support about the issue? If so, what did they say? If not, why have you talked to the support team?

I’m also struggling with the same thing. I upgraded from an iPhone 14 Plus and

I think the front camera was significantly better. I also have a ZAGG screen protector and I’ve wondered if that’s what is interfering with the quality of my front camera but the consensus seems to be that they just put out a $1000+ year with a lesser quality front camera. I’ve tried using front flash to see if it would improve, and i would say that it’s worse.

I regret buying the phone and unfortunately I can only upgrade my phone every 2 years, so now I’m stuck with this phone. I’ve honestly never been so disappointed. I’d like to believe an IOS update will fix what’s changed but I won’t hold my breath.

Can you post an image from the front facing camera? I’ve an iPhone 16 Pro Max and its cameras are fine.

There’s an old saying in the camera/photo business; “if there’s no photos it never happened.”

I posted requests for photos dozens of times to help with the issue. If you’re not willing to post photos, it’s pointless contributing here. The issue can’t be properly diagnosed without examples.

Apple Support Community is a public discussion forum for fellow Apple users to assist each other and share tips and solutions. Apple hosts the community, but is not a participant and will never read your comment. If you would like to leave feedback for Apple please use the link below.

Feedback - Apple