It’s no exaggeration to say that there have been numerous annoying faults reported since customers started using their iPhone 5 in earnest. One of the most reported issues has been the appearance of a “purple haze” or “flare” that appears in images where there is a bright light source just out of frame, when taken with the mostly applauded camera on the iPhone 5.

Because no detail can be too trivial about anything Apple, rumours and speculation spread like wildfire in the technical press and blogging world around what might be causing this. So on a sunny afternoon near the GizmoBird HQ, we set about trying to prove one way or another if this really was an actual fault with the iPhone 5, or an just another opportunity for people to have a pop at Apple.
The results were interesting…..

The first photo shows the results when we tried taking shots with the iPhone 5 whilst aiming directly at the sun. We tried our hardest but still couldn’t recreate a purple haze no matter how many shots we took.

Then we had a go at shots where the sun was slightly out of shot but its rays were creeping into the image. Again, there was no sign at all of the elusive purple haze. The nearest we came to even catching a glimpse of purple was whilst focussing the shot. But it disappeared in a second, and certainly never appeared on any of the photos we took.

Meanwhile, Apple posted a statement online. “Most small cameras, including those in every iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources. 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.”

So if you have experienced the “purple glow” then hopefully this should resolve it for you. Personally we’re quite baffled, because no matter how hard we persevered, we just couldn’t replicate the effect. All very mysterious! Hopefully this will be an end to “Purplegate”. Now, what was that problem with the new iPhone 5 maps software?

==== About the Author ====
This post was written by Sheridan Carnell who is a professional author for the mobile review and blogging site GizmoBird. She many years’ experience working in the IT and Mobile industry, and has a keen interest in the latest technology and smartphones.