Resolution for low-res zoom-in photos?

[Tricon7]

Every time I have to zoom in to take a photo of a distant subject, when I look at that photo it's extremely grainy and low-res. When I don't have to zoom, the photos look great, but if I have to zoom, they look cr*ppy - worse than a throwaway camera. Is there a better way to get a quality photo long-distance with this camera?

 

[jon law]

The zoom on an iphone is digital not optical so it will never be very good. the only real way to take a good zoomed shot is to maybe buy a lens adapter or add on lens? but I have heard mixed results with these lenses.