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posted by martyb on Sunday September 12 2021, @07:05PM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-catch-the-buzz dept.

Apple Warns Against Mounting iPhones to Motorcycles

Apple warns against mounting iPhones to motorcycles:

This has gotta be one of the weirdest ways you can ruin an iPhone camera.

Apple posted a new page to its support website warning iPhone owners to be careful about exposing their phones to the specific vibration frequencies found in "high-power or high-volume motorcycle engine." News of the support page first popped up in a report from MacRumors.

Apparently, operating these phones too close to those engines can fry the cameras in iPhones with optical image stabilization (OIS) or closed-loop autofocus (AF) technology. Every iPhone from the 7 onward has at least one of those things inside it, so if you've bought an iPhone in the past four or five years, it could potentially be at risk.

Exposure to Vibrations, Like Those Generated by High-powered Motorcycle Engines, Might Impact iPhone

Exposure to vibrations, like those generated by high-powered motorcycle engines, might impact iPhone cameras:

The iPhone camera helps you take great photos in any situation—from everyday moments to studio-quality portraits. The advanced camera systems in some iPhone models include technology like optical image stabilization and closed-loop autofocus to help you capture great photos even in difficult conditions. These systems work to automatically counteract movement, vibrations, and the effects of gravity to let you focus on taking a great shot.

[...] The OIS and closed-loop AF systems in iPhone are designed for durability. However, as is the case with many consumer electronics that include systems like OIS, long-term direct exposure to high-amplitude vibrations within certain frequency ranges may degrade the performance of these systems and lead to reduced image quality for photos and videos. It is recommended to avoid exposing your iPhone to extended high-amplitude vibrations.

High-power or high-volume motorcycle engines generate intense high-amplitude vibrations, which are transmitted through the chassis and handlebars. It is not recommended to attach your iPhone to motorcycles with high-power or high-volume engines due to the amplitude of the vibration in certain frequency ranges that they generate. Attaching your iPhone to vehicles with small-volume or electric engines, such as mopeds and scooters, may lead to comparatively lower-amplitude vibrations, but if you do so a vibration dampening mount is recommended to lessen the risk of damage to your iPhone and its OIS and AF systems. It is also recommended to avoid regular use for prolonged periods to further lessen the risk of damage.

Also at engadget [engadget.com].


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @10:07PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @10:07PM (#1177314)

    I would have to see the video in question to form an opinion about who is right and who is wrong.

    someone in a car changes lanes

    You do realize that stop and go congestion does not relieve you of checking your mirrors before changing lanes?

    this guy is doing about 30 MPH lane splitting

    That isn't especially clear. Do you mean that he was moving 30 mph faster than traffic was going? Or, do you mean he was going 30 mph while traffic around him moved in spits and spurts?

    For example, there is no law dictating the maximum speed at which a motorcyclist can lane split. Guidelines and officers of the CHP have said a motorcyclist should be going no more than 10 miles per hour over the speed of other vehicles. So if slow-moving traffic on the freeway is inching along at 20 mph, a motorcyclist should not be lane splitting faster than 30 mph. Motorcyclists should never go above 50 mph while lane splitting.

    https://www.rodriguezlaw.net/lane-splitting-in-california/ [rodriguezlaw.net]

    So, I can't jump to the conclusion that the lane splitter is at fault - nor can I jump to a conclusion that the 4-wheeler is at fault. I've seen it done properly, and I've seen it done recklessly. Every case has to be evaluated on it's own merits.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @11:37PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 12 2021, @11:37PM (#1177332)

    you really don't have to see the video. lane splitting is dangerous enough when traffic is stopped or crawling, but at 30mph (even if it is 20,30 or 30,40 differences) the fault would nearly always be shared.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 13 2021, @03:06PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 13 2021, @03:06PM (#1177433)

      It's less dangerous than being in that sort of traffic. You shouldn't be riding more than a few mph faster than traffic, but between heat stroke during summer and being rear ended any time of year, lane splitting jus definitely safer over all.

  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Sunday September 12 2021, @11:42PM (3 children)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Sunday September 12 2021, @11:42PM (#1177335)

    Freeway stop and go traffic, this guy is doing about 30 MPH lane splitting and cutting in and out of traffic.

    That isn't especially clear. Do you mean that he was moving 30 mph faster than traffic was going? Or, do you mean he was going 30 mph while traffic around him moved in spits and spurts?

    "Stop and go" = traffic was ~motionless. He was going 30mph.

    https://www.rodriguezlaw.net/lane-splitting-in-california/ [rodriguezlaw.net]

    So, I can't jump to the conclusion that the lane splitter is at fault

    Did you read the entire article you linked?

    For example, there is no law dictating the maximum speed at which a motorcyclist can lane split. Guidelines and officers of the CHP have said a motorcyclist should be going no more than 10 miles per hour over the speed of other vehicles. So if slow-moving traffic on the freeway is inching along at 20 mph, a motorcyclist should not be lane splitting faster than 30 mph. Motorcyclists should never go above 50 mph while lane splitting. They should also split on the far left lane and avoid splitting next to large vehicles (buses, big rigs).

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 13 2021, @03:42AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 13 2021, @03:42AM (#1177360)

      I think the point is that legally, in California, there is no limit besides the posted speed limit. So talking about this speed in terms of who is legally culpable doesn't seem to matter. And I doubt you want to use the CHP as an example of how to split your motorcycle on the freeway. I've been passed by CHP splitting at over 90mph in free moving traffic and well over 10mph faster in stop and go traffic. Most of the time I have to get out of the way of the CHP because they split at such high speed.

      Remove the element of splitting (which we've established is legal and isn't legally bound to certain speeds besides the posted speed limit) and consider a different scenario where a motorcycle is moving quickly in one lane when a car in a slower lane pulls in front the motorcycle in such a way that a collision is unavoidable. Legally speaking I believe the person making the lane change and causing the collision is at fault, regardless of how fast the motorcycle was going (up to the legal speed limit).

      • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday September 13 2021, @04:46AM (1 child)

        by tangomargarine (667) on Monday September 13 2021, @04:46AM (#1177364)

        I think the point is that legally, in California, there is no limit besides the posted speed limit. So talking about this speed in terms of who is legally culpable doesn't seem to matter.

        My overarching point is that, regardless of who is technically legally at fault, it is a dumbass idea to do in the first place, to go roaring up the line of basically parked cars, at 30mph (well okay, "roaring"...but still). Because each car you pass, the probability that one of them will do something unexpected ticks up with every one you pass.* And just the fact that this entire thing is illegal in every state *except* California is rather telling, isn't it? (Although personally, if told it were only legal in one state, I would've guessed Texas.)

        And I doubt you want to use the CHP as an example of how to split your motorcycle on the freeway. I've been passed by CHP splitting at over 90mph in free moving traffic and well over 10mph faster in stop and go traffic.

        Yes, even people in authority can be idiot drivers. You don't have to tell me; I live in Milwaukee* and the commuter highways are notionally 55mph speed limits...but of course most people completely ignore that. Just yesterday, I got passed by somebody who had to have been going at least 85 (I'll admit, I'm a bit of a leadfoot myself, but prevailing conditions; I'm not completely crazy).

        Do they not have the lane-width shoulders on the highways in CA? Near me I usually see the po-po cruising up the shoulder lane. Although we don't really have any motorcycle cops out here that I can recall.

        legal legally Legally at fault legal

        See above.

        *My motto since a year or two after moving out here is, "Assume at all times that any arbitrary driver you encounter on the road is purposely trying to hit you. If you assume everybody else is driving like a complete moron, you're significantly less likely to be surprised when you find somebody who actually is." The most common applications in my day-to-day life are when you're trying to turn onto a road and somebody decides to change-right into the curb lane right before you pull out, or somebody blows through an intersection in a turn-only lane. Aside from people just being dicks when you're trying to merge onto the freeway ofc.

        --
        "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday September 13 2021, @05:58AM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday September 13 2021, @05:58AM (#1177370) Journal

          Do they not have the lane-width shoulders on the highways in CA?

          No one in their right mind drives on the breakdown lane, least of all motorcyclists. Every bit of trash that falls from (or is thrown from) passing traffic ends up in that breakdown lane. Small nuts and bolts, discarded snacks, broken glass and plastics, items of all description that fall off of trucks with unsecured loads, larger parts from collisions, purposely emptied trash containers, roadkill, mowing and pruning debris along with landscaping debris, and debris from construction/maintenance crews. Only in a real emergency would I consider riding on the shoulder for any distance.