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Earlier, we reported that Apple’s iPhone 5 seemed to have some issues with purple flaring when taking photos with a light source just in or off frame, as reported by a number of users and duplicated in tests. Today, Gizmodo reader Matt Van Gastel received a response from Apple’s engineering team routed through a support representative which essentially says that behavior isn’t cause for concern. According to the email from Apple:

[W]e 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.

Of course, long-time Apple watchers will recognize this approach to dealing with what seem to be hardware problems with iPhones, since it’s very similar to what the company initially said about the iPhone 4′s reception issues, which was basically ‘you’re holding it wrong.‘ But in this case, there’s reason to believe Apple might actually be correct. TechCrunch reader and photographer Adam Panzica explains in a note posted to our original story:

As many others have stated, this kind of thing happens very frequently in cameras of all types. I actually remember there being a firmware update to my Canon 7D to address this issues with certain less and lighting combinations. It’s a result of certain light frequencies being reflected/refracted in the lens from the off-angle light source. It might look like lens flare on a larger glass, but on something this thin it’s probably always going to look like a purple haze. You simply cannot beat the laws of physics. High end DSLRs have whole image processors a hell of a lot more advanced than the one in a cellphone dedicated to removing this kind of thing. But it still shows up from time to time, especially with new glass.

The bad news, as Adam points out, is that it’s largely unavoidable, at least in terms of getting rid of it completely. The good news is that as mentioned, it’s the type of effect that’s been addressed or improved elsewhere via firmware update, so Apple could potentially develop a way to compensate for it occurring in iPhone 5 in later versions of iOS, and it might even go away with time.

In the meantime, this is more of a nuisance bug than a game-ender; I’ve yet to have it happen to my photos in the general course of taking pictures, other than when I was trying to make it happen. The response from Apple’s customer support team may not be particularly comforting to those who are seeing this problem with any frequency, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the last word from Apple on the matter of the purple haze.

One of the reasons Apple’s supply of iPhone 5 devices couldn’t meet the opening weekend demand may be due to its decision to use thinner touchscreens vs. previous generations, which combine touch sensor and glass together in one. The tech in question is coming from just two suppliers at the moment, LG Display and Japan Display, and according to some, that’s leading to a shortfall in production numbers.

Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes said in a research note (via Bloomberg) on Monday that the supply issue could be helped by adding Sharp to the list of suppliers for the in-cell displays, but that the Japanese LCD supplier is having trouble getting production quality to where it should be in terms of reducing defects in new screens. Sharp was unable to begin shipping the screens ahead of the iPhone 5′s debut, Barclays claims.

IHS senior analyst Tom Dinges also told Bloomberg that supply constraints were a likely source of problems for Apple during opening weekend, but noted that that’s a very good problem to have. And Barclays anticipates that it will get better, with estimates of iPhone sales around 45.2 million for the December quarter, and 170.7 million for the iPhone 5′s first year on the market.

There’s also reason to believe that supply constraints could actually be a boon to Apple’s long-term financial performance. Analyst Rob Chira noted before the iPhone 5′s release this month that Apple’s stock has actually performed 2.2 times better in a quarter after official word of supply constraint has come from the company itself. That’s exactly what Apple did on Monday in its press release, with CEO Tim Cook providing a statement saying the company is working hard to meet demand but faces challenges in doing so. Chira saw the in-cell displays, as well as Qualcomm’s 28-nanometer baseband chip as potential weak areas in terms of supply volume, and Qualcomm has said that supplies of that part could be limited as it introduces new manufacturing processes.

So far, Apple’s stock is down, sitting at around $687 in aftermarket trading this morning ahead of the bell. But it could rebound easily once analysts get over the fact that opening weekend sales didn’t meet a lot of analyst expectations, and imagine what kind of numbers Apple can put up once it gets past initial supply constraint issues. We’ve reached out to Apple for more on what’s keeping initial supply of devices under demand, and will update if we hear back.

Update: Apple got back to us and said they had “nothing to add” to yesterday’s official press release when it comes to iPhone 5 supply constraints.

Apple broke records again opening weekend, with the iPhone 5 selling more than 5M in its first three days, compared to 4M for the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone-maker also announced that demand for the iPhone 5 far exceeded the initial supply, which is likely the only reason why opening weekend sales didn’t cross into the 6- to 10 million range some were predicting. Still the number is impressive, and reflects strong pre-order performance, which Apple said topped 2 million in the first 24 hours.

Apple also announced that 100 million iOS devices have been updated to iOS 6, an amazing rate of adoption, considering that the company has sold just north of 400 million, according to its own numbers released earlier this month. We saw a lot of evidence that adoption was very high, very early on after the release of iOS 6, but Apple’s official totals really drive home just how many eagerly pushed that update button in the first week.

SquareTrade, a company that provides warranty repairs for consumer electronics, revealed in a report today that Americans have spent an approximate cumulative total of $5.9 billion on damaged iPhones since the device’s introduction in 2007. That includes the cost of repairs, replacement iPhones, and insurance deductibles for plans like the warranties SquareTrade offers, and in large part, costs incurred are a result of accidental damage, more so than loss or theft.

The survey claims that just during the past year, more than 30 percent of iPhone owners have damaged their device, and repeat occurrences are fairly common: 17 percent have damaged their devices more than once. Younger iPhone owners tend to be the most accident-prone, according to the results, with one in two iPhone users 35 or under experiencing some kind of accident with their devices.

The major culprits when it comes to what events cause problems? Mostly drops from a decent height, via either just losing grip on the phone (30%), having it fall from someone’s lap (13%), or it getting knocked off a table (11%). Water damage is also a notable iPhone killer, via either complete immersion (18%) or having something spilled on it (9%).

SquareTrade put together the report using a survey of more than 2,000 iPhone owners, as well as market size data from comScore current as of May 2012. The company has access to a huge pool of damage data around consumer devices because of its trade as a warranty provider, but it’s also worth noting that that line of business means SquareTrade could be a bit biased in this matter. I’ll also point out that there’s no comparative data as to how the iPhone’s repair costs stack up against other devices, but it is an interesting snapshot of just how immensely popular the iPhone has been, and how even its service market alone represents a massive, multi-billion dollar industry.

Apple’s next iPhone makes its way to consumers and store shelves on Friday, and actually looks to be a little less susceptible to accidental damage than its predecessors, with a primarily aluminum back that should better handle drops without taking significant damage. It’ll be interesting to see if that has a significant effect on iPhone repair and service frequency and overall cost.

If you were miffed at having to pay $29 to adapt your existing iPhone accessories to the iPhone 5‘s newfangled Lightning connector, fear not: Apple will throw in the first adapter, gratis. Extras will still run the aforementioned sum, which Cupertino has justified by saying the units will include chips to enable features like analog and USB audio along with syncing and charging. There’s also a $39 cable version available, but neither format will let you output HDMI or VGA video — there’s more (as yet unpriced) adapters coming for that.

Update: Well, the plot thickens. We’re now hearing reports that the above wording is a mistake, and that the adapter isn’t included after all. The information comes via a reader of The Next Web, who advises Apple sales support informed them it was an error. Of course, we’re reaching out to get the final word on the matter. However, that won’t be much consolation to those who made a purchase based on incorrect info.

Update 2: The above wording is now nowhere to be found on Apple’s site, suggesting that it was indeed an error. We’ll keep you posted if we hear anything more.

Update 3: Well, we’ve just received word from Apple confirming that the iPhone 5 will not ship with a 30-pin to Lightning adapter, which is a bit of a bummer. But, it does come with a Lightning to USB adapter, so if your current accessories have a USB port, all hope is not lost. Sadly, the specific iPod out functionality found in BMWs and Minis is not supported. The full comment is below.

The Lightning to 30-pin adapter does not come in the box with iPhone 5. It is sold separately. However, the Lightning to USB cable does come with iPhone 5 for connection to AC chargers and other devices… The Lightning to 30 Pin adapter supports analog audio output, USB audio, as well as syncing and charging. Lightning to VGA and Lightning to HDMI cables will be available in the coming months.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Apple’s iPhone 5 will arrive with a free Lightning to 30-pin adapter (update: Apple officially says no it won’t) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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