Apple is working to fix one of the biggest irritations with using the iPhone 13 Pro's otherwise stellar cameras, by improving the controls on the macro mode.
The trio of cameras on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max received a trio of upgrades, including better sensors, a Cinematic Mode, and a macro photography feature. The latter uses the boosted ultrawide camera to get impressive extreme close-up photos. But it’s not always easy to use.
When the iPhone 13 range launched, the macro mode on the Pro phones was set to switch automatically when you moved the phone's cameras close to an object. While the photos it produces are good, getting the mode to trigger and activate smoothly without a janky shift is a pain; it’s something I’ve very recently encountered with my iPhone 13 Pro.
Updating to iOS 15.1 adds an option in the Camera app setting to toggle off the “Auto Macro” feature. But to then toggle it when you needed it, you had to go through the process of switching to the ultrawide camera and then zooming into your subject, which was hardly an intuitive process, especially for Apple.
But 9to5Mac has reported that the iOS 15.2 beta now brings in the option to toggle the macro mode within the camera app itself, rather than delving into settings. I’ve yet to get the update myself, but it would seem like a no-brainer of a useful tweak.
Traditionally, Apple’s iPhone camera app has been trivially easy to use and more intuitive compared to accessing some camera options and modes in various Android phones; one notable exception being the Google Pixel 6 camera app, which is very neat and easy to use. But it looks like the attempt to make new features seamless to access has backfired in the case of the macro mode. Still, at least Apple is moving to fix that.
This may seem like a small tweak, but given the iPhone 13 Pro models top our best camera phones list, it’s good to know you’ll be able to easily use all of their features without delving deep into settings menus.
