What you need to know
- Appe launched the new iPhone 11 this week but the launch is having unusual side effects.
- People suffering from trypophobia are revealing on social media their condition is being triggered by the new iPhone's camera.
- Trypophobia is the fear of clusters of small holes or bumps.
This week Apple took the wraps off its shiny new iPhone 11 with its impressive new cameras that offer more photography versatility than ever. Unexpectedly, it is having an inadvertent side effect with the new camera system triggering peoples' trypophobia.
First spotted by CNN, trypophobia is the fear of patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. As you may have noticed, the iPhone 11 Pro's camera does look like three tiny holes. This is accentuated by Apple keeping the glass around the lenses white, gold and green to match the rest of the phone. The Space Gray option hides the camera pattern much better.
As the phone made the rounds on social media, people with trypophobia began to mention how it was triggering their condition.
I've had really bad trypophobia for years now and seeing pics of the new iPhone 11 all over my timeline makes me want to set everything on fire..stop pic.twitter.com/E1ucM9eeQyI've had really bad trypophobia for years now and seeing pics of the new iPhone 11 all over my timeline makes me want to set everything on fire..stop pic.twitter.com/E1ucM9eeQy— Em Harriss (@EmHarriss) September 10, 2019September 10, 2019
Here's what CNN's report said on trypophobia:
Research into trypophobia is limited. Geoff Cole, a visual scientist at the University of Essex in the UK, told CNN that while it might seem "a little bit odd" for people to feel uncomfortable at the sight of holes clustered together, for people with trypophobia, the images can cause a range of reactions, with varying levels of severity.
It is an unusual condition that we doubt Apple was trying to aggravate. In reality, this could also be an issue with the iPhone's speaker grill, which also consists of tiny little holes, but it has never garnered the attention like the iPhone 11's camera has.
In any case, if you suffer from trypophobia, it might be a good idea to stay away from the iPhone 11. Or at the very least stick to the Space Gray model.
