New iOS 15.1 beta lets you manually control Macro mode for iPhone 13 Pro

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By Joe Wituschek
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Iphone 13 Pro Sierra Blue Hero
Iphone 13 Pro Sierra Blue Hero (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

  • The third developer beta of iOS 15.1 adds the ability to manually control Macro mode.
  • The mode currently automatically kicks in when you get close to a subject with the Ultra-Wide lens.
  • iPhone users can now turn this mode on manually for more control with the camera.

When Apple released the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, one of the big camera updates was bringing macro photography to the UItra Wide lens.

Once iPhone Pro owners got their devices in hand, however, they realized that this mode automatically turned on when you got near a subject without the ability to turn it off. It was a frustration for those professional users who want or need more manual control of the camera.

Thankfully, an update appears to be on the way to give this kind of control to iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro max owners. As spotted by 9to5Mac, the latest developer beta of iOS 15.1 includes the ability to turn of Auto Macro in the Settings app.

Apple today released iOS 15.1 beta 3 to developers, and in addition to native support for ProRes, today's update also adds a new toggle to disable Auto Macro for the Camera app.If you head to the Settings application, then choose Camera, you'll see a new toggle for "Auto Macro." When enabled, this feature will "automatically switch to the Ultra Wide camera to capture macro photos and videos."If you disable this toggle, you can manually put your iPhone 13 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro Max into macro mode by switching to the 0.5x lens in the Camera and getting close to your subject, then tapping to focus.

It's currently unclear when iOS 15.1 will release to the public. However, it also includes support for ProRes video, another major feature for iPhone 13 Pro users so, hopefully, the update will release soon.

iPhone 13 And Mini Pink Cropped Render
iPhone 13


Bottom line: The iPhone 13 is the best iPhone for most people, with impressive new cameras and notable improvements to battery life. Without all the bells and whistles of the Pro line, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are still powerhouses that'll keep owners happy for years to come.

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.