iPhone 5 owners with purple haze pictures told 'you're holding it wrong'!

Users have reported the haze, or lens flare, affecting photographs when the iPhone 5 is pointed towards the sun or bright lights.

However in an official response posted on its website Apple has implied the lens flare is due to user error.

“Most small cameras, including those in every generation of iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources,” Apple wrote.

“Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect.”

The response is reminiscent of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs‘ infamous instruction to iPhone 4 users who in 2010 complained the phone’s internal antenna design meant simply holding it caused a drop in reception.

“Just don’t hold it that way,” Mr Jobs said.

The lens flare issue is the third major problem to dog the iPhone 5 since its September release.

Its redesigned maps software drew scathing reviews and prompted an official apology from Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, while the company was also forced to last month respond to the “Scuffgate” scandal – a flood of complaints the iPhone 5 was more susceptible to scratches.

Apple’s marketing boss Phil Schiller said scuffing of the device was “normal”.

“Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color. That is normal,” he wrote in an email response to a customer.