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Several iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max users have reported issues with screen responsiveness on their new devices. Some have expressed disappointment, pointing out that the performance falls short of expectations, especially for a device with a $999 price tag. The phone lineup was released on Friday (Sep, 20), much to the ire of consumers.
Taking to X, one user claimed they were having touchscreen issues with the keyboard. Another user added that the screen had gotten stuck when they tried to update to iOS 18 beta. Some users complained that it was ignoring taps, swipes, and scrolls.
I’m experiencing touch issues with my iPhone 16 Pro screen especially around the portion marked in red. Thought it was my screen protector but with or without, it still has an issue. Haptics feed back registers but the characters don’t. pic.twitter.com/n68kT2f8iP
— Ben Manzi (@HalfManHalfTech) September 23, 2024
I can't unlock my iPhone 16 pro max!! It started to update to iOS 18 beta on the startup screen and now im stuck! I tried hard resetting it 4 times and no luck. #Apple #iPhone16ProMax @Apple @AppleSupport pic.twitter.com/9nPlripYNm
— Mar 🙂 (@Marlon5120) September 21, 2024
On YouTube, there were similar examples shown where the screen appeared to be frozen, glitchy, and had “dead zones”, where some parts of the smartphone become unresponsive to touch.
A known iPhone 16 Pro user on Reddit, who goes under the name Known_Tap_1462, stated that other devices were having the same screen issue when they went into an Apple store to test several products. They continued: “At this point, I still believe it’s a software issue because the same bug can’t be triggered on Lock Screen. If it’s a hardware defect it should occur globally within the phone.”
iPhone 16 Series Screen Unresponsiveness Demonstration
byu/Known_Tap_1462 iniphone
This means Apple likely won’t need to recall malfunctioning phones or provide replacement units. Instead, a straightforward software update may be enough to resolve the issue and satisfy iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max users experiencing problems.
Why is the iPhone 16 Pro display experiencing touchscreen issues?
The issue might be due to the iOS touch rejection algorithm, which is designed to prevent unintended touches from triggering actions. If the algorithm is too sensitive, it could cause the phone to ignore intended touches. Accidental contact with parts of the screen may cause the device to reject all new touches for a short period.
Some users have reported that their touches are being ignored when their fingers are near the new Camera Control on the right side of the display.
Another possible cause could be the thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro compared to the iPhone 15 Pro, as the reduced bezel size might result in less protection against accidental touches, causing the phone to interpret them as mistakes and reject them.
ReadWrite has reached out to Apple for comment.
Featured image: Apple
