iPhone 16 Pro Max Issues with ProRAW 48 and stock camera app

[rapishorrid]

update, got the second unit today. (17 PM)

Same results as previous.

Horrible and blurry results from wide camera in proraw 48, with native camera app, this time.

Samples 16 PM vs 17PM, same conditions.

Is this only an issue with ProRAW, or also with HEIC 24MP (shot through native camera app)? And are you viewing the ProRAW in Lightroom or directly in the native photos app?

My 17 Pro is having the exact same issue as my 16 Pro, where ProRAW's are blurred/smudged similar to yours, but HEIC's are not.

 

[ToddH]

update, got the second unit today. (17 PM)

Same results as previous.

Horrible and blurry results from wide camera in proraw 48, with native camera app, this time.

Samples 16 PM vs 17PM, same conditions.

Well, that sucks! Even though I've partially switched over to Samsung Galaxy S25 ultra, i felt like I was about to pull the trigger on a deep blue 17 pro max, but I think I'll hold off. Since I have the 16 pro max, I think it would probably be a waste of money to get the 17 Pro Max especially since the wide & ultra wide cameras are exactly the same as what's on the 16 pro max. I'm hardly using my iPhone anymore anyway, mainly controlling home kit accessories at the house and a few other apps with it. Apparently, apple is making their phones for sale and pushing them out as quickly as possible, Unfinished. They call these phones pro version iphones, but they don't operate like a pro. I'm guessing it's software related, but you would think that iOS 26 would handle everything else so much better. Sorry that the replacement didn't work any better.

 

[nunolikeapple]

Is this only an issue with ProRAW, or also with HEIC 24MP (shot through native camera app)? And are you viewing the ProRAW in Lightroom or directly in the native photos app?

My 17 Pro is having the exact same issue as my 16 Pro, where ProRAW's are blurred/smudged similar to yours, but HEIC's are not.

I tested only ProRaw 48 with native and ProCam app. (same results on both).
Need to investigate more with JPEG- max and HEIC files.

 

[nunolikeapple]

Well, that sucks! Even though I've partially switched over to Samsung Galaxy S25 ultra, i felt like I was about to pull the trigger on a deep blue 17 pro max, but I think I'll hold off. Since I have the 16 pro max, I think it would probably be a waste of money to get the 17 Pro Max especially since the wide & ultra wide cameras are exactly the same as what's on the 16 pro max. I'm hardly using my iPhone anymore anyway, mainly controlling home kit accessories at the house and a few other apps with it. Apparently, apple is making their phones for sale and pushing them out as quickly as possible, Unfinished. They call these phones pro version iphones, but they don't operate like a pro. I'm guessing it's software related, but you would think that iOS 26 would handle everything else so much better. Sorry that the replacement didn't work any better.

Truly disappointing…
Im already in line with Apple assistance.
New report again in coming!
Last year, pixelation.
This year, blurriness.

 

[ToddH]

Truly disappointing…
Im already in line with Apple assistance.
New report again in coming!
Last year, pixelation.
This year, blurriness.

I would try a separate app that allows you to manually focus the camera to see if you get any different results or better results. Use focus peeking

 

[rotvaldi]

I read somewhere that 17Pm reduced from 5x optical zoom to 4x tricking it with 8x ‘optical quality’

 

[nunolikeapple]

Yes… dubious marketing.

 

[H_D]

It seems that under various conditions the app decides that the 1x has the better aperture to capture light and opts for a 12 MP crop of the main lens. In bright daylight you get 4x, beyond a certain ISO they switch to 1x cropped. There are other factors, effects, live image, fast shooting etc. At the moment Halide is the best way to get 48 MP ProRAW from the tele.

The 4x otherwise IS an upgrade. Apart from the fact that is a nicer zoom level that 5 was, you get 100mm equivalent in 48 MP and 8x in the (rather bad) same 12MP the 16 offered. With decent light and Halide, the 4x now offers almost the same quality as the 1x. Both are not even on the the level of a good m43 chip, not to mention full frame or middle format, but vs the 16, the 17 offers a much-improved tele.

 

[lindros2]

I have the same issue with blurry photos.

 

[nunolikeapple]

I tried more 3/4 units at the store nearby. Same results.

Unbelievable…

 

[lindros2]

I tried more 3/4 units at the store nearby. Same results.

Unbelievable…

but if you call Apple, like I did, they'll blame you and request performing hours of diagnostic step-by-step troubleshooting.

It's our fault. It's the software. It's the beta (I hoped that would fix it). It's isolated.

Mine is going back.

 

[Artsketch]

but if you call Apple, like I did, they'll blame you and request performing hours of diagnostic step-by-step troubleshooting.

I have done that with the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, but the only right decision was to go back to a used 14 Pro in mint condition and stay there until some day Apple release an equal main lens again.

 

[nunolikeapple]

but if you call Apple, like I did, they'll blame you and request performing hours of diagnostic step-by-step troubleshooting.

It's our fault. It's the software. It's the beta (I hoped that would fix it). It's isolated.

Mine is going back.

Yes i can relate…
I will be contacted tomorrow by them…
Lets raise and escalate this situation again.

 

[lindros2]

Yes i can relate…
I will be contacted tomorrow by them…
Lets raise and escalate this situation again.

If you want to DM me, I can provide my serial number/IMEI.

 

[lindros2]

I have done that with the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, but the only right decision was to go back to a used 14 Pro in mint condition and stay there until some day Apple release an equal main lens again.

which is funny... my 15 Pro Max has been excellent.
Maybe - just maybe - it is the batch of devices?
(my 15PM was produced Oct 2024, not early)

 

[BlackrazorNZ]

Add me to the ranks of people severely underwhelmed by the 17 Pro telephoto so far. It's blurry to the point of unusability in many shots. Here's 4 images of the same tree in the distance - ProRaw taken in 12MP and 48MP mode, a native 12MP RAW (shot using ProCamera), and a 20MP RAW from my little Panasonic Micro 4/3 camera at the same zoom for comparison.

I can forgive a dedicated camera being better at 20MP than the 17 Pro is at 48MP, but I'm seriously struggling as to why the 12MP RAW would show far more detail in e.g. the lower tree branches than the ProRaw option does, especially the 48MP. The latter is just a smudgy, blurry mess.

12MP ProRaw

48MP ProRaw

12MP RAW

20MP M4/3 RAW

 

[nunolikeapple]

Very disappointing indeed…
Lets hope they resolve this.

 

[jajo.j]

I am actually seeing quite the opposite results from my switch from 16PM to 17PM. It is hard to know if the reason for this is that my 16PM was a poor performer but the 17PM is better on all lenses and both with ProRAW and BeyerRAW (third party).



This is a closeup (100% crop) of 1x ProRAW 48. 16 Pro Max on the left and 17 Pro Max on the right. 17PM has slightly more detail and sharpness.



This is a closeup (100% crop) of 5x/4x ProRAW. 16 Pro Max left and 17 Pro Max 5x digital zoom from 4x to the right. I really prefer 17PM here as it is much more natural and has less artifacts. Also boken is clearly stronger on 17PM.



100% crop from 1x BeyerRAW 12MP. 16PM to the left and 17PM to the right. 17PM looks much better with less noise and more detail overall. Since the hardware is the same, this must be effects from better image pipelines in the new SoC.



100% crop from 5x/4x BeyerRAW 12MP. 16PM to the left and 17PM to the right. Clear winner is 17PM with much cleaner and more detailed output.

--

My conclusion:

17PM is a solid camera upgrade in my opinion, especially the new tele is more detailed and has a much nicer bokeh thanks to the bigger sensor. But I see improvements on all lenses, probably thanks to the new SoC.

ProRAW 48 is still pretty much trash and 12MP BeyerRAW looks better in 99% of the cases with more detail and no denoise smudge.

 

[nunolikeapple]

In some photos i still have better results with main camera in ProRaw48 with my 16PM.
Even tho i think my 17PM stabilized a bit.

I will test now the 26.0.1

 

[nunolikeapple]

Same results

New update did nothing to me.

Still getting better results at maximum zoom with my 16PM.

Got a new unit today. Performs the same.

 

[BlackrazorNZ]

I agree - 26.0.1 does not resolve this, images on 48MP ProRAW are still showing very significant softness and blurring. Here's another photo of the same scene as above, but in gentler morning light on a mildly overcast day - which should in theory assist with better lighting than the originals. Despite this, no noticeable improvement.

48MP ProRaw 'as shot'

48MP ProRaw imported into Adobe Lightroom, Adaptive Profile applied and 10 points Texture 5 points Grain applied to try and correct some of the softness.

 

[Ultraslan]

I posted this in another thread, but since this one here is gaining momentum, here are my samples. Similar issue with the main lens in 24MP mode, with the stock app. Identical shutter speed and ISO between my 15PM and 17Pro. 200% Zoom.
Very aggressive noise reduction and less sharpening for sure. So, at the moment, I think this is related to the imaging pipeline rather than a hardware issue. I filed a bug report and sent mine back until this issue is acknowledged and resolved. Really strange that no reviewer has mentioned this issue anywhere.

https://imgur.com/a/f7BhIOn

 

[nunolikeapple]

Yeah thats the issue…
Lets hope ios 26.1 fix this.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Yes actually it has.. i’ve had to power cycle my phone a few times which is something I normally do anyway too get everything working better after our power cycle. There were a maybe one or two times that Camera quality seem to have dissipated a little bit, but I think that was mostly phone performance more than anything. so far the camera upgrade/replacement has been great. I own two iPhone 16 Pro Max devices but I think I’m just gonna upgrade one to the 17 pro max in a couple of months so I can take advantage of the upgraded portrait lens/tele photo. but yes, overall the camera quality has remained great. And I am mainly just use the default camera app all the time with the Stark black-and-white styles as my first choice and then I will switch to ProRAW often as well.

I’ve heard about that project indigo app, is it still making your phone run hot and has it adopted 48 megapixel resolution photos yet? Whenever I shoot raw, I have some presets that I bought from Tyler Stalman and that’s basically all I use these days. his presets are the best that I’ve used so far and whenever I open them in Lightroom, he has them set up on Adobe color profile instead of ProRaw Apple. Using that profile makes a big difference.

i haven't followed from the start, how did you get them to aknowledge the issue? genius bar told me nothing is wrong

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Here we go again...

I still think it's a focusing issue over everything else. Sometimes it gets it right, sometimes it misses slightly.

I think so too, but what could cause that ? hardware or just user ? I mean I tested on a 17 pro in store as well as mine and the one in store was way less blurry and more color accurate

aren't those phones supposed to have good OIS ?