Comment: Apple seems embarrassed about its iPhone camera bump, at least in some advertising

As part of its promotion of Earth Day this year, Apple had released a video on YouTube promoting its new iPhone recycling robot, Liam. The video anthropomorphized the robot, giving it a playful quality as it took apart iPhones to help recycle the materials to be used further down the line. Eagle-eyed viewers quickly noticed that the iPhone 6/6s in the video was missing the infamous camera bump. Some thought it was strange camera angles, but in Apple’s latest Apple Music promo, we see that familiar missing camera bump creep up again, and this time with the iPhone 7…

Last night during the 68th Emmy Awards, Apple had aired a new commercial promoting its Apple Music service. The video had execs Jimmy Iovine, Eddy Cue, and Bozoma Saint John sitting around a desk discussing ideas with comedian James Corden, the premise being that they need a way to promote Apple Music’s catalog and ease of use. While Corden continues to throw out ridiculous ideas, we eventually see him brainstorm an idea aloud with him handing an iPhone to a little boy in the middle of the desert. After the boy tells Corden’s character that he’s thirsty, he replies, “Thirsty for new music?” and hands him an iPhone (6s? 7?). Noticeably, this iPhone lacks the camera bump that so many owners have begrudgingly become accustomed to.

The iPhone that Corden hands to the boy has antenna bands like an iPhone 7, but the camera module itself is missing any camera bump reminiscent of an iPhone 6s or 7. When this exact situation occurred months ago with the Liam promotional video, most of us thought it was just a small fluke in Apple’s video, but to have it happen again is possibly more intentional.

Of course this could all be chalked up to being a part of the video production process. The scenes could have been shot using prototype, demo, or mock devices that would later be fixed in post production. Reproducing those camera bumps in post may not be easy, and settling on a flat backing might have been the easiest approach. During the time of the Liam video, it felt less excusable as iPhone 6 and 6s devices were readily available. With the limited stock of the iPhone 7, or maybe just that Apple wanted to keep it a secret from James Corden, this seems more likely to slide.

Images From: “The all-new Apple Music” and “Liam – An Innovation Story” by Apple