What's up with my apples?

[PotterWatch]

Is this some kind of sunburn? It is only happening on the areas that are exposed to the sun and only on the oldest apples, though they still aren't ripe. What can I do to prevent this?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Is it possible they are hitting something and getting bruised? They look like bruises to me.

 

[PotterWatch]

Nope. It's not bruising. You can see from the picture below how it is only affecting the area that gets the most sun. I moved the leaf that was covering half the apple in the first picture I posted before and you can see how there is no brown color where the leaf was covering the apple.

 

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

Looks like your apples are sunburnt:

http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/php/research/sunburn/