Apple says bike-mounting may damage your iPhone camera: Here’s why

“If you accidentally move a camera when you take a picture, the resulting image can be blurry. To prevent this, some iPhone models have optical image stabilisation (OIS). OIS lets you take sharp photos even if you accidentally move the camera. With OIS, a gyroscope senses that the camera moved. To reduce image motion, and the resulting blur, the lens moves according to the angle of the gyroscope,” the support page explains.

“Additionally, some iPhone models have closed-loop autofocus (AF). Closed-loop AF resists the effects of gravity and vibration to preserve sharp focus in stills, videos, and panoramas. With closed-loop AF, on-board magnetic sensors measure gravity and vibration effects and determine the lens position so that the compensating motion can be set accurately.”

Why are the vibrations harmful to the camera?

Apple explains that “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.”

The two features also don’t go well with magnetic accessories, which risk interfering and temporarily disabling the sensors. The effects of vibration could be minimised by using a vibration-dampening mount for your phone, but for long-term safety, its best to not mount your iPhone to your motorcycle at all.