iPhone camera malfunction creates Matrix-like experience for soon-to-be bride

An iPhone user in the UK has discovered three different versions of herself in the same photo, thanks to an error in the way the shot was assembled on the back end. Comedian Tessa Coates was captured trying on a wedding dress last month in front of mirrors. As one does. When she checked out the resulting shot, she noticed two different poses in the mirrors to the one she was holding in the photo. Weird.

More evidence The Matrix exists and we’re living in a simulation? Actually, it’s much more likely to be a computational photography error due to the way Apple stitches together the best image. Miss Coates claimed the image posted to Instagram and seen below, gave her a “full panic attack” (we hope she wasn’t being literal) and wasn’t a Live Photo or a burst image, but a normal photo. So, to unearth the mystery, she took the iPhone to the Apple Store and spoke to a technician named Roger, who believed the image was stitched together by AI. He explained to her the camera had taken a host of images very quickly, even though it wasn’t in the specific burst mode. Because she was moving her arms as the photo was taken the iPhone “made an AI decision” and stitched the images together rapidly to create what the iPhone thought to be the best image. The technician told her the photo was “one in a million”. Interestingly, Google just made the ability to use AI to manipulate a photograph a staple feature of its new Pixel 8 smartphones. It’s not clear whether Apple has similar plans. Needless to say, this is a spooky one though.