IOS 26.0.1 camera are blurry on iPhone 17 Pro Max and older iPhones.

Jeff - Your comment doesnt make sense at all. An average user is not doing Astrophotography on a daily basis but they could be taking photos of books, monitor screens more than Astrophotography. If a basic photo from a book or a text from monitor or really from any place cannot be clear on a 1400 phone then I dont think its worth it. If someone is paying this amount of money for a latest phone, there should be no issue at all. Asking for a clear photo of a book is not rocket science.

I bought an iphone 17 Pro three days ago and the camera was a significant part of the decision to upgrade from an iphone 14 Plus. I took the phone to a wedding yesterday and was surprised at the softness of the photos. I then went on to the forums to see if anyone else had experienced this and here I am.

I know when a photo is less sharp compared to a previous camera and all the sophistry I've been reading about depth of field, Apple's decison to make the phone fit most users etc etc does not make up for the fact that subjectively my photos lack bite. I was hoping to ditch my Lumix with Leica lens for most situations but will not be retiring it until Apple sort this issue out.

Please post examples of the blurring pixelated photos. There is an old expression that photographers use, if there’s no photos, it never happened. The person before you claimed blurry photos, but nothing gets posted. I -would have to suppose because it never happened.

Hi Jeff,

I don’t think I’m going to post photos. I know that there is some issue with my iPhone 17 pro camera so I’m adding my voice to the list. I don’t want to get into a long running discussion about why I’m not right.

In the old days when camera lenses were being reviewed in magazines they printed detailed grids showing the resolution of lenses and their ability to distinguish contrast and colours. Perhaps you might like to publish those comparing the iPhone 17 pro camera to a previous camera rather than explain to us why we don’t understand that the shots are better despite the evidence of our own eyes .

Could this be a little like the ‘Batterygate’ problem with Apple where the company denied there was any issue with older iPhone battery longevity until suddenly there was?

I’m hoping that the feedback you’re getting will encourage Apple to take a look at this issue and do something about it in a subsequent software release. All the best. Jon

Why you think the subject you took should be completely focus, when you clearly have the phone camera so close to the bottom of your keyboard, is a mystery? You're expecting total focus in a scene which is almost impossible to take every element of the scene in total focus. If you don't understand photography and how cameras focus, such as Focal Length, then why post photos which no camera could do a good job with, no matter how much the camera cost? Are you even aware that you can place your finger on the area of an object you want to take a photo of on your iPhone screen to ensure that area is in focus? It's clear you don't know that. But to expect all of what you wanted to be in focus from the angle you took it and the closeness to the bottom of the keyboard guarantees you won't get a totally in focus photograph.

You should take a class in photography and learn about camera basics. Once you learn about them, you'll better understand the limitations of what you can and can't do with a camera. Your photo you posted as having an issue, is unfortunately a fail.

Are you sure the vertical is iPhone 17 Pro? Just want to verify. In any case you have to setup an identical experiment, objects are different sizes indicating you held the cameras at different distances from the subject. Photographing poorly lit computer keyboards is not something I’ve ever had to do or even wanted to do. Try at least a decent test, in decent indoor lighting. It’s acknowledged that all cellphones will exhibit issues indoors and in low light.

Just commenting here to affirm everyone that I also recognize this blurry issue with the 17 Pro compared to my 12 Pro.

However, I am hesitant to update the 12 over to iOS 26 if this is indeed software issue 😵‍💫

I’ve noticed that the iPhone 17’s camera performs very poorly at 4x and 8x zoom. The image is shaky and unstable, and the quality is significantly worse compared to previous models. Please fix this issue in the next iOS update.

I knew liquid glass, etc. I waited until yesterday to move to 26.0.1, and the improvement was next to nothing.

Opened my camera for the daily cat eyeball picture and it felt like my camera quality dropped hard. I moved the zoom back out, swapped modes, and everything was still coming out grainy or not as sharp as they previously came out.

I just figured out how to get Portrait mode back. You need to hold down the “video/ picture” mode and slide it to the left or right to get all the old mode selections back. Hope this helps!

Use Portrait mode on your iPhone - Apple Support

I pre-ordered iphone 17 promax with such hype and interest but the camera isn't working to my expectations and I I am disappointed. Screenshots are blurry and I have tried several times to figure it out why but to no avail. I was booked to Bromley Apple Store a forthnight away but nothing has changed. I don't want my new iphone to go under repairs and prefer to return it for refund.