😽 iPhone vs. LiDAR

A Reddit user named Jeguetelli shared a video where he tried to film a Volvo EX90. But things took an unexpected turn — spots started appearing on the camera sensor, literally burned in by the car’s LiDAR.

Some commenters accused Jeguetelli of faking the footage since the burn marks disappeared when he zoomed out at the end of the video. Turns out, the explanation is pretty simple: only the periscope camera with 5x zoom was damaged, while the main camera stayed intact.

In the comments, Jeguetelli explained that he shot the video on an iPhone 16 Pro Max. The only way to fix the issue is by replacing the camera module — but luckily, he’s covered by Apple Care, so repair costs are taken care of.

Reports suggest that this problem only occurs with lasers using a 1550 nm wavelength — not all cars have this. Still, it’s unclear how similar LiDAR systems might interact with other car cameras on the road.

@durovs_code