iphone 16 pro max: the camera leaves circles in all my night time pictures, ruining my Aurora borealis pictures. This was not an issue with my previous iPhones. Hardware or software issue?

Wow-- what a cool picture! Where is this?

What you're seeing in the center is an interference pattern produced by reflections in adjacent lens elements-- it's called Newton's Rings, and it indeed has been in previous phones. It's only visible when the light is precisely one color, one wavelength, and this green comes only from energy transitions in oxygen atoms.

There are some editing tools (available in Photos on a Mac but not in iOS, unfortunately) that can smooth out the color in the picture. But you could just enjoy the incredibly cool and rare effect that you're seeing!

I had the same issue. I am new to the I phone world. Somehow I switched the phone to the ultrawide camera magnification 0.5 ant the rings were gone. I just needed to remember to try that next time. Hope it works for you

On all my photos too on my iPhone 16 pro iOS 18. So annoyed. My husbond has iPhone 15 pro - an he got fine photoes without rings in the middle. Standing 1 meter away from me taking similar photoes. He has not yet updated to iOS 18.

I have the exact same problem! So bummed. Didn’t happen with my iPhone 14 Pro Max. Can’t return phone as I’m 5 days past return!

Happened on all of my pics last night! Never an issue with iPhone 14 Pro Max. So bummed!

Which tool in the Mac photos app would be best?

Also got the same on my 14PM tonight. So odd, it’s curious though!