- Apple announced the new iPhone 11 on Tuesday – it’s the first iPhone released since Apple design chief Jony Ive left in July.
- The iPhone 11 has two cameras, and the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max have three cameras.
- Some people on Twitter are saying the clustered camera pattern triggers their trypophobia – a fear of clustered holes.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
When Apple announced the new iPhone 11 on Tuesday, the trypophobic corner of the internet collectively cringed.
Trypophobia, a fear of clustered holes, affects 15% of the population, according to a 2013 study.
The iPhone 11 has two cameras stacked atop one another, and the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max both sport three cameras, arranged in a triangle. As soon as the new iPhones were revealed on Tuesday, a flood of tweets poured forth remarking on the design’s potential to unnerve trypophobes, as people affected by trypophobia are known.
It’s not clear if these tweets indicate that the iPhone 11 is genuinely triggering people with trypophobia, or are simply a reflection of all the hyperbole and jokes in the Twitter echo chamber. Whatever the case, the iPhone 11 trypohobia connection is now a meme that’s gaining currency.
Check out the reactions of trypophobes to the iPhone 11, and learn more about trypophobia, below.
The internet has declared the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro to be trypophobia triggers.
Dude my Trypophobia is kicking. I’m shaking🙈 pic.twitter.com/KIH3vYOBd6
— SinB✨ (@Hwang_SinBYAH) September 10, 2019
The trypophobia Reddit channel r/trypophobia has deemed the iPhone 11 Pro "bad."
The reactions have been visceral.
I am convinced I suffer from Trypophobia. When I saw the iPhone 11 Pro I felt sick 😭😱
— NALINI (@MsTelemaque) September 11, 2019
iPhone 11 is not for people with Trypophobia ... aka me *Shudders* #iPhone11Pro
— Naa Solih (@NaaSolih) September 11, 2019
Like, nauseating.
I actually cannot deal with all these memes of the new future iPhones having so many back cameras its so uncomfortable to see 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢 proper activating the trypophobia I have suppressed within me
— Z🌼 (@txyyxzx) September 11, 2019
every time i come across a picture of the new iphone i feel sick.... who thought that was a good idea bro. trypophobia hitting the roof
— lins ☾ namjooning 🦀 (@gcfkookmin) September 11, 2019
The iPhone 11 Pro is effectively freaking out trypophobes.
That new iPhone 11 Plus Max Pro Ultra is really scary#iPhone11Pro #iPhone #iPhone11#trypophobia pic.twitter.com/DhT8lUJOfZ
— 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓵 𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓫𝓪𝓫𝓵𝔂 (@qu3ai) September 11, 2019
The three cameras of the iPhone 11 Pro seem to be a worse trigger than the two cameras of the iPhone 11.
people using the iphone 11R as publicity material for the new iphone because the other models look scary (and gross) #trypophobia 🤮😬 https://t.co/BrvShPoII8
— chin (@ramosernestine) September 11, 2019
Though, the five cameras on the Nokia 9 seem like they could be an even worse trigger ...
iPhone 11 pro max : trypophobia
Nokia 9 : Am I joke to you? pic.twitter.com/a8OAazouht— Myat Ko Ko (@MyatKKo) September 11, 2019
... and the Xbox One S ...
All these folk talking about the iPhone 11 and #trypophobia haven’t seen the Xbox One S, have they? 😂 pic.twitter.com/4CSmI5qLyh
— 🏴 The Scots Gamer 🏴 (@MultiplatGamer) September 10, 2019
... and the Apple Mac Pro too.
Whoever designed the new Apple Mac Pro clearly does not have trypophobia. #WWDC19 pic.twitter.com/djS9p6fnrz
— Shawn Ahmed (@uncultured) June 3, 2019
So, what is trypophobia?
The iPhone 11 leaks triggers my trypophobia. 🙈 #ApppleLaunchingEvent pic.twitter.com/3VclNSZAYt
— donbosconovitch (@donbosconovitch) September 10, 2019
Trypophobia is a fear of clustered holes, like this:
my pancake is killing me 😣😖 #trypophobia pic.twitter.com/NxSCFXU7AN
— i r f a n i s r y (@irfanisry) September 9, 2019
The first scientific study of trypophobia was conducted in 2013.
The study titled "Fear of Holes," by Geoff G. Cole and Arnold J. Wilkins, found that up to 15% of people (18% of females and 11% of males) become viscerally upset after looking at images of clustered holes or bumps.
"Trypophobia is more akin to disgust than to fear," Wilkins told Business Insider in 2015. "The disgust is probably an overgeneralisation of a reaction to possible contaminants."
"The disgust arises from clusters of objects, and these objects are not necessarily holes, despite the name trypophobia," Wilkins continued.
Sources: Sage, Business Insider
Trypophobes can be physically affected by seeing images of clustered holes.
The same study featured a quote from a trypophobe describing a triggering episode:
"[I] can't really face small, irregularly or asymmetrically placed holes, they make me like, throw up in my mouth, cry a little bit, and shake all over, deeply."
Sources: Sage, Business Insider
Clustered hole patterns appear in nature.
Trypophobia might be an evolutionary warning sign to protect us from things that might harm us, like poisonous animals with hole-cluster patterns.
"There may be an ancient evolutionary part of the brain telling people that they are looking at a poisonous animal," Cole said in a 2013 press release.
"The disgust we feel may well give us an evolutionary advantage, even if we don't know it consciously, because it sends people with trypophobia running as far as possible from the holey-looking thing," Jennifer Welsh wrote for Business Insider in 2015.
Sources: Sage, Business Insider
Read more about iPhone 11:
- Apple just unveiled the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, new Apple Watches, and more
- Here's everything that happened at Apple's huge iPhone 11 launch event
- These are Apple's new iPhones: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Apple's new subscription gaming service launches September 19 and costs $5 per month
- Apple just announced a new Apple Watch with an always-on display for the first time ever
- Apple just unveiled a new 10-inch iPad launching later this month for $329
- People are roasting Apple for trying to make 'slofies' happen
