---
title: "The New iPhone Design Is Horrifying People With an Obscure Phobia"
description: "Apple just unveiled the iPhone 11 Pro, but based on the public's response, it didn't run the design past anyone with trypophobia."
date: "2019-09-10"
modified: "2019-09-10"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/apple-iphone-new-design-triggering-phobia"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "apple"
  - "iPhone"
  - "the digest"
  - "trypophobia"
---

# The New iPhone Design Is Horrifying People With an Obscure Phobia

![Apple just unveiled the iPhone 11 Pro, but based on the public's response, it didn't run the design past anyone with trypophobia.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/apple-iphone-design-triggering-phobia.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Apple/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Disturbing Design

On Tuesday, Apple unveiled the iPhone 11 Pro, which is loaded with new camera features like a background-eliminating portrait mode for headshots, a front-facing lens that can take slow-motion video — which Apple [really hopes](<https://www.cnet.com/news/apples-slofies-slo-mo-selfies-get-strong-early-reaction-nope/>) you'll call "slofies" — and three separate lenses that take wide-angle shots.

But Apple is already facing backlash against the camera's design. [People are tweeting](<https://twitter.com/lifeaseva/status/1171444031399682048>) about how the three lenses are [setting off their trypophobia](<https://twitter.com/TheAJayII/status/1171470381493805056>) — an aversion to patterns of tightly-packed holes — that's leaving them disgusted or horrified when they look at the new handset.

https://twitter.com/lifeaseva/status/1171444031399682048

## Opt Out

Some are even complaining that the off-putting lenses will lead them to skip over the new iPhone and hold onto their older models.

https://twitter.com/Kristeyyy/status/1171465052567691264

Others say they're [opting out](<https://twitter.com/delucamer_/status/1171526289116676096>) entirely.

https://twitter.com/delucamer_/status/1171526289116676096

## Feels Bad

As it stands, trypophobia is not an [officially-recognized medical condition](<https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320512.php>), but that doesn't mean that people aren’t feeling repulsed.

https://twitter.com/visecs/status/1171445452253753344

For some, the new iPhone is the [first thing to trigger](<https://twitter.com/helloimisabella/status/1171526617161580545>) any sort of trypophobia, truly a monumental accomplishment for Apple.

https://twitter.com/helloimisabella/status/1171526617161580545

**More on the iPhone:** *[Google Uncovers Massive, Multi-Year iPhone Hacking Effort](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-massive-iphone-hacking-effort>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)