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You won't believe this mind-bending iPhone photo

You won't believe this mind-bending iPhone photo

Computational photography FTWTF!

Leander Kahney
December 01, 2023

Take a look at the photo below of a bride posing in front of a pair of mirrors.

It was snapped recently on an ordinary iPhone, but there’s something very, very wrong about it.

Look closely — what do you see?

Thats’ right — there’s a glitch in the matrix!

After the photo was shown to Apple, the company explained how it happened. It’s a one-in-a-million shot that exposes the way the iPhone’s computational photography works. This is how your iPhone snaps are put together, and sometimes it can go very, very wrong.

Also in today’s newsletter:

Apple released some important bug fixes for macOS and iOS, patching security holes that are reportedly being actively exploited. So update your devices ASAP.
A CNBC film crew got a rare look inside one of Apple’s super-secret silicon chip labs. The most surprising thing to me is how it looks nothing like the cool, high-tech labs that Apple shows in its promotional videos. Check out the bog-standard Home Depot shelving!
PDF Editor PDF Book Reader is a low-priced but highly rated PDF app with a unique pricing plan: Pay only for what you need.
The Cult of Mac Store is running a sale on some great charging stations, including almost 50% off this 4-in-1 MagSafe charging stand from SwitchEasy that’ll simultaneously charge all your Apple devices.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

You won't believe this bride's mind-bending iPhone photo

Tessa Coates was understandably freaked out by the photograph. Why on earth would she look different in the mirrors?

Apple TV+ and Paramount+ could team up for cheaper streaming bundle

There's potentially good news for those who subscribe to both Apple TV+ and Paramount+

Entire iPhone 16 lineup could feature a force-sensitive Action button

Next year’s Apple phones might add a capacitve Action button with a built-in force sensor to detect the amount of pressure applied.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Store}

Get up to 47% off compact magnetic chargers for all your Apple gear

There's nothing like plopping all your Apple devices -- iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods -- in one place to top them off.

Take a rare look inside Apple silicon lab

Here's your chance to peek inside Apple's vaunted chipmaking operation.

M3 MacBook Pro drops to all-time low price after $250 discount

Apple's recently launched M3 MacBook Pro is now available for less than its Black Friday sale price.

^{A message from PDF Editor PDF Book Reader}

Capable, low-priced PDF editor is optimized for iOS 17

People have relied on PDF Editor PDF Book Reader for years, and it just added new features that work brilliantly on iPhones and iPads running the latest Apple operating systems.

Important iOS and macOS patches close security vulnerabilities

Apple releases iOS 17.1.2 and macOS Sonoma 14.1.2 with security updates for bugs that have been actively exploited by hackers.

Get a pair of Linksys mesh Wi-Fi routers for less than $90

Get mesh Wi-Fi for less with two Linksys Velop dual-band Wi-Fi routers, now just $89.97. No coupon is required!

Today in Apple history: Too little, too late for Apple III

On December 1, 1981, the Apple III relaunch addressed the computer's biggest hardware faults as the company did damage control.

'Winter edition' MacBook Pro rig boasts fine 5K display and top-shelf booze [Setups]

A nearly full bottle of Lagavulin single malt Scotch whisky is hardly the least important tool in this computer setup.

Tweet o’ the day

Upgraded my set up to a dual monitor today
Now I can see the html & css files without tapping back and forth
10x developer’s watch out
— Joshua (@CreeCoder)
10:56 PM • Nov 30, 2023

One more thing ...

❝

[Listening to the Beatles rehearse a new song] Did you hear that little detour they took? It didn't work, so they went back and started from where they were. It's so raw in this version. It actually makes it sound like mere mortals. You could actually imagine other people doing this, up to this version. Maybe not writing and conceiving it, but certainly playing it. Yet they just didn't stop. They were such perfectionists they kept it going. This made a big impression on me when I was in my thirties. You could just tell how much they worked at this.

They did a bundle of work between each of these recordings. They kept sending it back to make it closer to perfect… The way we build stuff at Apple is often this way. Even the number of models we'd make of a new notebook or iPod. We would start off with a version and then begin refining and refining, doing detailed models of the design, or the buttons, or how a function operates. It's a lot of work, but in the end it just gets better, and soon it's like, ‘Wow, how did they do that?!? Where are the screws?’

— Steve Jobs, 2011.

Today’s poll

Do you mistrust your iPhone camera now?

Results from yesterday’s poll: Have you been watching 'Slow Horses'?

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