With the launch of the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, Apple introduced Macro mode, a new camera feature that's exclusive to the Pro models and brings the immensely detailed world of close-up macro photography to iPhones for the first time. Keep reading to learn how it works.

iphone 13 macro
With Macro mode enabled, you can take pictures or video of subjects that are as close as 2cm to your ‌iPhone‌'s camera lens, which means you can now take shots of flowers, textures, insects, or pretty much anything small or at close distance, with accurate focus, rich detail, and no blurring.

Here's how to use the Macro mode feature on ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max. Bear in mind that Macro mode is exclusive to these models and isn't supported on ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini or ‌iPhone‌ 13.

  1. Launch the Camera app on your ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro.
  2. Make sure Photo mode is highlighted in the camera mode menu. If you're shooting video, swipe to Video mode instead.
  3. Line up your close-up subject in the viewfinder and allow the camera to switch to the wide-angle lens. Move in closer – the subject can be as close as 2cm away from the lens (you can use the zoom if necessary).
    camera

  4. Hold the phone steady. Once the lens has focused on the subject, tap the shutter to take the shot or begin capturing video. If you're shooting video, tap the shutter button again to finish.

When you're experimenting with Macro mode, you'll likely notice that your ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro switches automatically to the new mode as soon as it detects an object that's within 14cm away from the lens. This can cause the viewfinder to jitter as it switches between the wide-angle lens to ultra-wide angle, which can be quite jarring and distracting.

As of writing, there's no way to prevent this behavior when taking macro photos. If you're shooting macro video, however, you can prevent it by enabling the Lock Camera option under Settings -> Camera -> Record Video.

settings
Apple says that a forthcoming update, due in the fall, will allow users to specifically turn off automatic camera switching when shooting macro photography at close distances.

Related Forums: iOS 15, iPhone

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

10 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Thursday October 31, 2024 9:42 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well. ...
best early black friday deals

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals

Friday November 1, 2024 8:21 am PDT by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 29 in 2024. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
M4 Pro on Blue

M4 Pro Chip Benchmark Results Reveal an Extremely Impressive Performance Feat

Thursday October 31, 2024 7:06 pm PDT by
The first Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the M4 Pro chip surfaced today. Impressively, the results that are available so far show that the highest-end M4 Pro chip is faster than the highest-end M2 Ultra chip in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance. Here is a comparison of the results: Mac mini with M4 Pro (14-core CPU): 22,094 multi-core score (average of 11 results) Mac Studio...
Apple iPhone SE 4 5G Modem 1

iPhone SE 4 First to Get Apple-Designed 5G Modem, iPhone 17 Pro to Add Custom Wi-Fi 7 Chip

Friday November 1, 2024 4:04 am PDT by
The iPhone SE 4 that's set to come out early next year is expected to debut Apple's first in-house 5G modem, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain. In a research note this week with Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu said Apple is expected to roll out its custom-made 5G modem starting with the next-generation...
ios 18 2 chatgpt plus

iOS 18.2 Beta 2 Shows Siri ChatGPT Limit, Offers 'Plus' Upgrade Option

Monday November 4, 2024 10:54 am PST by
With the second beta of iOS 18.2 that's available for developers today, Apple has further fleshed out the ChatGPT integration that's available with Siri. In the Settings app, there's now a section that shows the ChatGPT daily limit, and offers an option to upgrade to the paid ChatGPT Plus plan. The beta includes an Advanced Capabilities section with a "Daily Limit" reading that shows up as...
M3 Pro Max vs M4 Pro Max Feature

Here's How Much Faster M4 Pro/Max Are for Graphics vs. M3 Pro/Max

Friday November 1, 2024 8:04 am PDT by
Apple's new M4 Pro and M4 Max chips are impressively fast in terms of CPU performance, topping the M2 Ultra, but what about graphics performance? The first Geekbench 6 results for GPU performance are now available for the M4 Pro and M4 Max, and the Metal scores reveal some impressive year-over-year gains. Based on the Metal scores that are available so far, the M4 Pro and M4 Max are up to...
imac video apple feature

What to Expect From Apple This November

Friday November 1, 2024 9:40 am PDT by
After a busy October in which Apple announced new Macs and Apple Intelligence launched, the calendar has now turned to November. Below, we outline what to expect from Apple this month as the slower-but-still-busy holiday season approaches. After seeding the first betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 with additional Apple Intelligence features last month, Apple will likely...