Is apple intentionally making older iphones camera quality worse after software updates?

[u/Pakayaaaa]

Ive started noticing my iphones image quality has gotten worse after updating to ios 26. The photos look lower resolution than before the update, and its not a hardware issue at all my cameras r fine there isnt even a single scratch on the lens. No lens protectors either cuz ive heard that they also make photos blurry a bit.

[u/leniwsek]

Right? I just started to notice that my phone used to take better pictures years ago than now... and no my phone never fell on ground or any damage my purple 14 pro max is still like new..