Cheeky but true. The iPhone 5 can’t catch a break. First it messes up the mapping app, which Apple apologised for, then it adds a nutty purple halo effect to pictures. And you know what, it’s because you’re holding the camera wrong. When will you ever learn?

But seriously, Apple really is putting the blame on us. According to Gizmodo and a billion other sites, this weird little fault rests squarely on the shoulders of the user. Here’s a letter one user got back from Apple after his camera begun popping out purple halos of doom:

Dear Matt,

Our engineering team just gave me this information and we recommend that you angle the camera away from the bright light source when taking pictures. The purple flare in the image provided is considered normal behavior for iPhone 5′s camera. If you wish to reach me regarding this case number *********, please contact me at 1-877-***-**** ext. *******. I currently work Thursday-Monday: 7:00am – 3:30pm Mountain Time. If you reach my voicemail, please leave your name, phone number, case number and the best time to reach you. Email is ***********@apple.com.

Sincerely,
Debby
AppleCare Support

Bastards. Angle the camera away? How about telling us to not set the thing on fire to prevent it from melting? Or “keep iPhone away from hippos to avoid it being swallowed.” So why the purple halo? Experts, or random people from the internet, say that it’s caused by the noise filter that now uses a smearing effect, as opposed to the older speckling function. Other theories say that the new sapphire lens produces the purple halo. Whatever the cause is, it sucks. Here’s what it looks like for those of us not yet blessed with the iPhone 5.

This reminds us of Antenna-gate. When will we ever stop holding the iPhone wrong?

[Image credit]