With every new iPhone comes a series of complaints about issues that simply weren’t caught during Apple’s undoubtedly rigorous product testing.

Who can forget “Antennagate,” when customers reported poor reception from their new iPhone 4s. Apple, at first, maintained its line that the smartphone was perfect, and that it was users who were wrong. They told customers that they were holding it the wrong way.

Eventually, though, Apple had to acknowledge the problem and Steve Jobs had the humiliating task of going on stage, not to announce a revolutionary product, but to address a flaw in Apple’s latest product and offer a “bumper case” add-on. He then fired the person responsible and the company settled a class-action lawsuit over the debacle, which just this year began paying out.

Now, the iPhone 5 is having its own mini-scandal. Some customers are reporting a hazy reflection on some of their photos.

Today, Apple officially addressed the “purple haze” issue, and their response is similar to their first reaction to antennaegate. In short, Apple has told customers that they are taking photos incorrectly. The Apple support page regarding the issue states that all small cameras have this problem:

Most small cameras, including those in every generation of iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources. This can happen when a light source is positioned at an angle (usually just outside the field of view) so that it causes a reflection off the surfaces inside the camera module and onto the camera sensor. 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.

Whether or not Apple’s claim that most small cameras suffer from the issue is true, it’s worth noting the high standards Apple is being held to. On a different brand of smartphone, the camera issue might not have even been noticed. The fact that Apple is touting its new “sapphire crystal” lens and “precision lens alignment” makes the device a huge target.

(via BGR)