iPhone 13 Pro's new iOS 15.2 macro mode toggle is great because it means Apple is listening

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

The news that iOS 15.2 is set to gain a macro mode toggle for iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max devices is very much welcome, but not for the reasons you might be thinking.

Well, not only for the reasons you're thinking.

When Apple added macro mode to the two high-end iPhone 13 models, it set things up to automatically switch to macro mode when iOS decided that was what users wanted. The problem is that iOS doesn't always know what's best, causing some to find macro mode was being enabled when they didn't want it. Apple added a toggle to disable that automatic switching with iOS 15.1, but with iOS 15.2 beta 2, we now have a button in the camera app that enables and disables macro mode on the fly. And it's glorious.

But as great as that news is and as wonderful as that button is going to be when iOS 15.2 ships to the world, that isn't why I'm so pleased that it's here. I'm pleased because it means Apple is listening, and it isn't the first indication of that either.

Ever since the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max went on sale, people have been crying out for a button like his one. It's something people mentioned in early reviews, too. For whatever reason, Apple didn't think to give us a macro mode toggle out the gate — but someone heard that it was what we wanted, and with iOS 15.2, they're giving it to us. That's progress.

It's progress because Apple hasn't historically been great at listening.

Ports on MacBook Pro 2021

Ports on MacBook Pro 2021 (Image credit: Apple)

People spent years complaining that Apple's notebooks lacked the ports and slots they needed, especially at the 'Pro' end of the spectrum. Apple listened, eventually, and now we have the best Mac that Apple has produced in a long, long time — the new MacBook Pro.

We've even seen this willingness to listen with the iPhone 13 lineup before. People wanted thicker, heavier iPhones with bigger batteries inside. That's what we got. And they're wonderful!

Apple's new fondness for paying attention to feedback has me wondering what we'll see change next. We already got ports on the MacBook Pro, and MagSafe has made a return. What should we ask for next?

Is a USB-C pushing things a touch too far?

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.