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The iPhone Lenses Are Giving Me Trypophobia

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I’ve been nauseous all afternoon. It started when I was scrolling through Twitter and saw the first glimpses of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max and their triple-camera horror show.

[Editors Note: Trypophobia is a phobia for a reason, it freaks people out. If you’re afraid of clusters of small holes, read our blog about a big art hole that someone fell into instead.]

Do you see it?

Those three black circles. What monsters thought this was okay? I get that Apple wanted three lenses, but placed so close together they create a deeply unsettling image of trypophobic terror.

You know what trypophobia is. You feel it when you see a lot of holes clustered together, like in certain types of barnacles and coral.

Oh, and lotus seeds.

Photo: Jason Wasley
Photo: Jason Wasley (Flickr)

Yeah, now you’re feeling it. Not much different than this, is it?

Photo:
Photo: (Getty)

When I see those three circles together, my brain registers something like this:

https://twitter.com/embed/status/1171528710224150528

Or this:

https://twitter.com/embed/status/1171490143942758401

I’m far from the only one who has noticed this design flaw.

https://twitter.com/embed/status/1171372600062332928

A cluster of lenses should not be put on a $1,000 phone. They belong in my nightmares and with click-bait scare links that try to sell boomers nootropics.

I’m glad that Apple is preventing me from wasting money on a new iPhone, but now I’m afraid that a glimpse of one of these on the street could make me feel lightheaded. The first time I walk into a bar and see a row of people holding up multiple iPhone 11 Maxes—each with an array of beady holes staring into my soul—I know I’m going to faint.

I need to go lie down now.

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