Rare reports of poor image quality on iPhone 7 Plus circulate, no root cause known

Posted:
in iPhone
A string of complaints circulating on the Apple community-driven support forums claim that some users are experiencing a "water-color" effect on photos taken with the new iPhone 7 Plus camera.




Complaints in multiple threads on the support forums about a potential problem surfaced around the same time as the Apple "Hello Again" event, with users complaining that out of the box, picture quality using the dual-lens system on the iPhone 7 Plus was sub-par. Users complained of blurry photos, as well as wide areas of the "water-color" effect dominating a shot.




Service data collected by AppleInsider suggests that the problem is very rare, with 1004 reported service cases with an iPhone 7 Plus across 31 Apple Stores since launch, with the vast majority of them being either so-called "infant failures," or user-broken screens. Of the 1004, only 8 phones have manifested camera problems, and not all of them are attributable to this specific problem.

Some users report success with disabling the "optimized storage" setting on the iPhone. Other users with the problem are not having an issue in RAW captures in Lightroom, but only with the Apple Photos App, with some users seeing the problem in both RAW images and in Photos-hosted images.

The root cause of the problem isn't clear. Some users suggest a mechanical failure of the optical image stabilization as part of the problem, with others seeing a similarity to sharpening filters over-applied.

AppleInsider was advised by Apple that there may be multiple, rare, root causes of the same manifestation and that users having concerns with their iPhone 7 Plus camera should contact AppleCare, or make an appointment at a Genius Bar for further assistance, and documentation of the problem.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 44
    jimbobsmells_jimbobsmells_ Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    So glad this has been picked up by the Apple blogs in general. I have this exact issue and been trying to get answers for a couple of weeks. Genius Bar appointment next week should hopefully sort me out.
    And no, it's not 'Lies'. 
    aylkredgeminipa
  • Reply 2 of 44
    sog35 said:
    Lies
    So a proven issue is a lie according to you?
    Mike Wuerthelerhinotuffredgeminipa
  • Reply 3 of 44
    Feature, not bug?
  • Reply 4 of 44
    ktappektappe Posts: 824member
    sog35 said:
    Lies
    Troll.
    thewhitefalconDracarysrhinotuffredgeminipajony0
  • Reply 5 of 44
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    sog35 said:
    Lies
    Get a grip. 

    thewhitefalconDracarysrhinotuffredgeminipa
  • Reply 6 of 44
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member

    looks like lots of so called experts claiming they know what is going on, Really disabling optimize storage for putting photos on icloud solved a problem with the phone camera. I think people playing with the phone may have messed with some setting and they are having problem and then resetting things clear it up.

    Looking at the picture in the article I do not see any issue, but again it depend on the display you are using to look at the photo with. Also you can see the background is not as clear as the foreground but that could be the a depth of field which could be the portrait setting, but that feature was just release. Plus who is the say the iphone 5 picture is correct, it may be off itself.

  • Reply 7 of 44
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,054member
    Dracarys said:
    sog35 said:
    Lies
    So a proven issue is a lie according to you?
    He meant "lies", the insect.
  • Reply 8 of 44
    sully54sully54 Posts: 108member
    An article detailing a rare issue that is affecting 0.8% of iPhones brought to the Genius Bar? 

     Must be a slow news day. 
    watto_cobraentropys
  • Reply 9 of 44
    First post for me, please be kind.  I've actually been complaining to my wife about this since the first day i got the 7 plus.  For me the images from the 2x camera are just plain bad - they literally look worse than the digital camera when the FIRST iPhone came out 9 years ago. Pixelated, lack of clarity, and light metering seems off too - I've taken shots side by side with my phone and my wife's iPhone 6 and there's no question the iPhone 6 quality is better in terms of clarity and light handling.

    I've got a genius bar appt tomorrow (made it last week, even before this article was posted) -- will be happy to bring this article to show them that I'm not making it up.
    PeteCEDaveInCanada
  • Reply 10 of 44
    sog35 said:
    Lies
    Well that totally wrecked what little credibility you may have had left on this forum.
    If you are going to object to a report or statement it would be nice to know why you are saying what you did.
    A blanket statment of 'Lies' is IMHO, just not good enough. Did you used to get 'could do better' in your school reports?

    entropys
  • Reply 11 of 44
    francoliu said:
    First post for me, please be kind.  I've actually been complaining to my wife about this since the first day i got the 7 plus.  For me the images from the 2x camera are just plain bad - they literally look worse than the digital camera when the FIRST iPhone came out 9 years ago. Pixelated, lack of clarity, and light metering seems off too - I've taken shots side by side with my phone and my wife's iPhone 6 and there's no question the iPhone 6 quality is better in terms of clarity and light handling.

    I've got a genius bar appt tomorrow (made it last week, even before this article was posted) -- will be happy to bring this article to show them that I'm not making it up.
    I hope everything works out for you and this isn't a serious issue.
    kudu
  • Reply 12 of 44

    sully54 said:
    An article detailing a rare issue that is affecting 0.8% of iPhones brought to the Genius Bar? 

     Must be a slow news day. 
    New phone, new camera system. If there is an issue better for it to get sorted early on.
    entropys
  • Reply 13 of 44
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    sog35 said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    sog35 said:
    Lies
    Get a grip. 

    of what? its too small dude
    Just like your hands. Keep hunting, I'm sure you'll find it eventually.
    watto_cobraentropys
  • Reply 14 of 44
    PeteCEPeteCE Posts: 1unconfirmed, member
    I'd love it if someone rather did an article on the way that the iPhone 7 (and 7 Plus) routinely blow out the highlights on photographs. Example 1: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12018977/Camera issues/IMG_4614.JPG Example 2: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12018977/Camera issues/IMG_0290.JPG Just start looking around, even at sample images in iPhone 7 reviews, and you'll see that it's a very prevalent issue.
    rep75DaveInCanada
  • Reply 15 of 44
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,384member
    sog35 said:
    So glad this has been picked up by the Apple blogs in general. I have this exact issue and been trying to get answers for a couple of weeks. Genius Bar appointment next week should hopefully sort me out.
    And no, it's not 'Lies'. 
    First post. Did not read. 
    His post was worth more of a read than your 11,000+ garbage posts combined on this forum. Seek help. Stunning you haven't been banned. 
    nolamacguypscooter63watto_cobraentropys
  • Reply 16 of 44
    I noticed this issue on first day. Water color look, blown highlights, etc.  
     Genius Bar appt agreed terrible quality and replaced phone. Same image quality and they really couldn't say why.
    Finally starting to see some more reports of poor quality from other users. 
  • Reply 17 of 44
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    hey hows the AI "report" on touch disease coming? still on radar?
  • Reply 18 of 44
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    slurpy said:
    sog35 said:
    So glad this has been picked up by the Apple blogs in general. I have this exact issue and been trying to get answers for a couple of weeks. Genius Bar appointment next week should hopefully sort me out.
    And no, it's not 'Lies'. 
    First post. Did not read. 
    His post was worth more of a read than your 11,000+ garbage posts combined on this forum. Seek help. Stunning you haven't been banned. 
    this. Ben Frost was banned and he was perhaps less insane and trollish than sog. what gives?
    watto_cobradiplication
  • Reply 19 of 44
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,328member
    francoliu said:
    First post for me, please be kind.  I've actually been complaining to my wife about this since the first day i got the 7 plus.  For me the images from the 2x camera are just plain bad - they literally look worse than the digital camera when the FIRST iPhone came out 9 years ago. Pixelated, lack of clarity, and light metering seems off too - I've taken shots side by side with my phone and my wife's iPhone 6 and there's no question the iPhone 6 quality is better in terms of clarity and light handling.

    I've got a genius bar appt tomorrow (made it last week, even before this article was posted) -- will be happy to bring this article to show them that I'm not making it up.
    I hope that you can resolve it quickly. It might be simply that your specific iPhone has this problem, and a swap for a new one will be the answer.

    And forget SOG; nobody has a clue what he is thinking at any particular time. He's in is own world.
    edited October 2016 pscooter63rhinotuffwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 44
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    hey hows the AI "report" on touch disease coming? still on radar?
    The data used in this story from assorted Genius Bars has been gleaned as part of that, so yes.
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