Apple Confirms iPhones Have Major Camera Problems

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You’ve no doubt heard of the political scandals of Watergate, Plebgate, and Hackgate – but have you heard of Beautygate?

The most recent scandal has grown from a far-reaching criticism of the front camera of the iPhone XS, which is that it makes people’s skin too smooth.

Apple have faced criticism ever since the iPhone XS was released last month, with users saying that their selfies looked too ‘photoshopped’.

Hence, Beautygate was born. This was in reference to the certain beautifying features on Samsung phones, which Apple insisted they didn’t use.

Buyers reported issues with the model immediately after its release, claiming that their selfies didn’t look the same and they felt as though their features had been altered in an attempt to make them look better.

Apple stayed quiet on the issue until recently, when The Verge confirmed that the technology company are in fact in the process of fixing a bug to resolve the matter.

They wrote:

Apple told me that iOS 12.1 will fix a bug in its smart HDR camera system that resulted in smoother-looking photos taken by the front camera on the iPhone XS and XR.

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More specifically, the system was choosing a frame with a longer shutter speed instead of choosing one with a short shutter speed, which would freeze motion and therefore preserve detail.

The front camera of the iPhone XS also does not have optical image stabilisation, meaning its shots are more blurry than the rear camera. This all results in a loss of detail, which is why the images appear to be a lot more smoothed out than those taken with the rear camera.

Many people were initially annoyed with the effects, assuming that Apple were attempting to ‘beautify’ people and alter their appearances.

However, others were pleased with the results – despite them turning out to be a bug:

I must be the only one who doesn’t want a fix for the so called #BeautyGate if I take a selfie I need all the help I can get..

Am I the only one for keeping #beautygate?

I don’t know why people are complaining about the iPhone XS and XS Max #BeautyGate selfie thing. Like hello, have you seen your skin in HD? Gross

Apple are adamant that these issues will all be fixed in its next update, iOS 12.1, which will be rolled out soon to the public.

But the camera isn’t the only part of the new iPhones customers seem to have a problem with.

Many customers have also taken to social media to complain about weak signal strength, affecting both the speed and connectivity of wi-fi and data signals.

Some buyers admitted their older iPhones had better signal strength than the new and supposedly improved devices, questioning why they bothered to upgrade their phones at all.

According to a report by the wireless-technology blog WiWavelength, lab testing of the latest iPhones revealed their signal strength was significantly weaker than the iPhone 8 and iPhone X devices.

The issues seem to be occurring on a range of carriers, suggesting it’s the devices themselves which have problems.

Either way, the new update rolls out soon so let’s hope we get some sort of resolution!

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Lucy Connolly

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).