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After teaching us the concept of “you’re holding it wrong” with the iPhone 4, and asking iPhone 12 users to keep it at least 15 cm away from pacemakers and defibrillators, Apple comes up with a new and very unconventional warning for iPhone users: Riding a motorcycle can hurt your camera performance – And that makes a lot more sense than many would think.
Putting your iPhone on a motorcycle mount? Stop.
An official post posted by Apple to its support portal states that powerful motorcycle engines produce powerful vibrations that resonate in the chassis and handlebars, and sometimes do so within a certain frequency range that can damage some of the most important functions in modern iPhone cameras: , It was written.
The main reason for the strange warning is one of the most successful features in modern mobile cameras: optical image stabilizer (or OIS, for short). Since the iPhone 6 Plus, most iPhone models come with this system that actually automatically resists the involuntary movements and vibrations we all have when we try to take a picture on a mobile device, using a gyroscope that moves the lens according to your movement. When using a device without OIS, any tremor or slight movement may result in a blurred or distorted image.
In addition, Apple mentions one more mechanism that is at risk of damage: the autofocus mechanism. It is a mechanism that is aided by magnetic sensors that measure the effects of gravity and vibration of the users to position the lens accordingly, thus maintaining focus in photos, videos and panoramas. Apple notes that although these two systems have been engineered with vibration and vibration resistance, prolonged exposure to these can impair the performance of both mechanisms – and thus affect all the photos and videos you take with your iPhone.
FYI for scooters riders
Most of Apple’s new warning seems to be directed at users who place their iPhone on arms and mounts attached to the motorcycle body. However, the company not only stops by to warn motorcycles, but it also kind-of-warns users of electric scooters and scooters. If you use these, Apple recommends having an arm or a softened anti-vibration bracket to lower the risk of damage to the iPhone and OIS and autofocus systems. “We still recommend avoiding regular use for extended periods of time to reduce the risk of harm.”
Apple emphasizes that this sensitivity of the OIS system is not only unique to its products, but to other products that use OIS systems (such as probably any other smartphone that has optical stabilization systems) and other systems. This slightly odd warning is not even the first official warning Apple releases for devices with OIS and AF, when last January it warned against external iPhone accessories that create magnetic fields that could damage the photo array.