Is my iPhone camera quality getting worser

I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

You’re spot on. I checked out all the 15 models in different stores, and they all had blurry pictures unless the lighting was perfect and the subject was still. My older phones did better at capturing clear images. I switched back to an old 12 with a new battery, and it’s way better. Even my SE was better.

I feel the same way. Going through my photos from 2022, I’m surprised that the same iPhone 14 Pro I use now captured those. I feel like I have to upgrade.

Caiden said:
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Apple spends a lot of money improving HDR.

My photos on the iPhone X still look the best. For some reason, the cameras on newer phones aren’t as sharp. The more they change the software, the worse the photos seem to get.

Vince said:
My photos on the iPhone X still look the best. For some reason, the cameras on newer phones aren’t as sharp. The more they change the software, the worse the photos seem to get.

I agree.

What are your camera settings? They might have changed with an update. Go to Camera, Formats, and check if the Photo Mode is set to 24MP. Try setting Camera Capture to Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency for JPEGs instead of HEIF.

You could also turn off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ in the camera menu, as that lowers resolution when you take a lot of photos at once.

Hal said:
What are your camera settings? They might have changed with an update. Go to Camera, Formats, and check if the Photo Mode is set to 24MP. Try setting Camera Capture to Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency for JPEGs instead of HEIF.

You could also turn off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ in the camera menu, as that lowers resolution when you take a lot of photos at once.

Thanks, I wonder if it’s the faster shooting setting.

Fitz said:

Hal said:
What are your camera settings? They might have changed with an update. Go to Camera, Formats, and check if the Photo Mode is set to 24MP. Try setting Camera Capture to Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency for JPEGs instead of HEIF.

You could also turn off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ in the camera menu, as that lowers resolution when you take a lot of photos at once.

Thanks, I wonder if it’s the faster shooting setting.

Do the pictures look any different now?

Hal said:

Fitz said:
Hal said:
What are your camera settings? They might have changed with an update. Go to Camera, Formats, and check if the Photo Mode is set to 24MP. Try setting Camera Capture to Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency for JPEGs instead of HEIF.

You could also turn off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ in the camera menu, as that lowers resolution when you take a lot of photos at once.

Thanks, I wonder if it’s the faster shooting setting.

Do the pictures look any different now?

A little bit! Not perfect, but slightly better.

Fitz said:

Hal said:
Fitz said:
Hal said:
What are your camera settings? They might have changed with an update. Go to Camera, Formats, and check if the Photo Mode is set to 24MP. Try setting Camera Capture to Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency for JPEGs instead of HEIF.

You could also turn off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ in the camera menu, as that lowers resolution when you take a lot of photos at once.

Thanks, I wonder if it’s the faster shooting setting.

Do the pictures look any different now?

A little bit! Not perfect, but slightly better.

Let us know if you find a better fix; that’s a tough issue.

Hal said:
What are your camera settings? They might have changed with an update. Go to Camera, Formats, and check if the Photo Mode is set to 24MP. Try setting Camera Capture to Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency for JPEGs instead of HEIF.

You could also turn off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ in the camera menu, as that lowers resolution when you take a lot of photos at once.

Is there something wrong with HEIF?

Kel said:

Hal said:
What are your camera settings? They might have changed with an update. Go to Camera, Formats, and check if the Photo Mode is set to 24MP. Try setting Camera Capture to Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency for JPEGs instead of HEIF.

You could also turn off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ in the camera menu, as that lowers resolution when you take a lot of photos at once.

Is there something wrong with HEIF?

No, it’s generally better, but I thought changing formats might help identify the problem.

Fitz said:
I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

Maybe it’s how you’re cleaning the lenses. If low-light photos aren’t as good, you might have changed some setting too.

Alden said:

Fitz said:
I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

Maybe it’s how you’re cleaning the lenses. If low-light photos aren’t as good, you might have changed some setting too.

I just use a regular polishing cloth, no cleaning products.

Fitz said:

Alden said:
Fitz said:
I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

Maybe it’s how you’re cleaning the lenses. If low-light photos aren’t as good, you might have changed some setting too.

I just use a regular polishing cloth, no cleaning products.

Try resetting your settings. Some have found condensation under the camera and had to get Apple to fix it for free.

Fitz said:
I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

I’m sure Apple changes something with the cameras. There’s no way the iPhone X and 15 have the same 12MP cameras, and there’s such a big difference.

Dylan said:

Fitz said:
I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

I’m sure Apple changes something with the cameras. There’s no way the iPhone X and 15 have the same 12MP cameras, and there’s such a big difference.

I agree! My 12 Pro Max was so good that I bought a second one about 1.5 years ago for YouTube. It’s still decent for videos, but now that I’m trying to sell products online, it’s just awful. I clean the lenses, but the photos look fuzzy, like too much light is causing it to look lower quality.

With video, more light helps, so why isn’t that the case with photos?

I’m thinking about going back to a point-and-shoot camera for filming YouTube and learning how to take good product photos. The DSLR setup can get so expensive!

I don’t want to spend $1,000-$1,200 every three years just for a camera. I barely use my phone anymore and keep it out of sight because of social media and texts, so I don’t want to upgrade just for the camera, even with a trade-in.

Fitz said:
I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

Did you find a good fix? My husband and I both have 15 Pro Maxes, and I do a lot of food photography. I got mine right when it launched, and my husband got his a couple of months ago. His camera is amazing compared to mine. I can take back-to-back pictures with the same lighting and setup, and his always look better. The settings appear the same. Not sure what to do next.

Teo said:

Fitz said:
I first noticed this issue with my 14 Pro Max after about a year. The photos got worse, and now with my 15 Pro Max, the quality and sharpness are not as good as before.

I have a 15 Pro Max and looking back at photos from last year, they are way better than what I’m getting now. They used to look like they were taken with a DSLR, but now they seem low quality and slightly blurry. I’ve tried adjusting the lighting and different settings, but I can’t recreate the sharpness my phone used to have.

Can anyone help me with this? Are there parts of the camera that wear out over time? My pictures aren’t bad, but they’re clearly not as good as they used to be. I’ve also cleaned the lens.

Did you find a good fix? My husband and I both have 15 Pro Maxes, and I do a lot of food photography. I got mine right when it launched, and my husband got his a couple of months ago. His camera is amazing compared to mine. I can take back-to-back pictures with the same lighting and setup, and his always look better. The settings appear the same. Not sure what to do next.

Just taking photos in good lighting seems to help a bit.