Apple's iPhone 5 released recently to an unprecedented amount of hype, with the handset moving five million units in its first weekend. But as with any first batch of tech devices, there were some issues that only emerged when the iPhone 5 began being used on a massive scale. One of them? A distinct "purple flare" that seemed to mar many photos.
And what does Apple finally have to say? Essentially, "move the camera."
Here's Apple's official statement on their support page:
"Most small cameras, including those in every generation of iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources. This can happen when a light source is positioned at an angle (usually just outside the field of view) so that it causes a reflection off the surfaces inside the camera module and onto the camera sensor. Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect."
While Apple may think this is a sincere apology, let's face it - the company barely manages to offer a viable solution for a technical issue in one of their devices. In addition, the forums users over at AnandTech state that the problem does not exist in the iPhone 4S, and occurs only on the iPhone 5.
Consumers should not be told that they simply need to hold the handset differently. The camera should work (like many cameras already do) in any position. Granted, Apple will most likely have later shipments of the iPhone 5 free of this camera issue, but for it now, the company may be more interested in focusing on other problems, like the debacle that is Apple Maps.
After many users about how inaccurate and lacking Apple Maps was, CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology saying, "We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."
He also mentioned that as more people use Apple Maps over time, the experience should become more accurate.
Apple also recently had to patch an issue with the Wi-Fi connectivity on the Verizon iPhone 5, which angered many consumers who felt the phone mistakenly gobbled up tons of data usage.