No one enjoys dealing with an unresponsive phone, especially when it’s attached to a device worth over $1,000. Unfortunately, this is exactly what many iPhone 16 Pro users are experiencing.
On Sunday, a Reddit thread that caught the attention of 9to5Mac revealed that a number of iPhone 16 Pro buyers are facing issues with their phone’s touch screen.
According to reports, the screen becomes unresponsive when the area next to the new camera button is pressed. The camera button, introduced with the iPhone 16 lineup, allows users to take and control photos without opening the Camera app manually.
“If one’s skin accidentally touches the area next to the new camera control button first, the whole screen becomes unresponsive until released, except for the home bar. This is the only area that causes the issue…Not sure if it’s the OS or a hardware defect due to the introduction of the camera button. It seems more like a system bug to me due to palm rejection. Temporal solution for now is try to avoid that area or use your left hand more.”-u/Known_Tap_1462, iPhone 16 Pro series user
The glitch appears to affect only iPhone 16 Pro series devices running iOS 18 and the iOS 18.1 beta. Interestingly, it doesn’t occur when the phone is locked, adding further confusion to the issue.
Possible Causes: iOS Touch Rejection Algorithm or Thinner Bezels?
Although no one knows the exact cause of the problem, one potential explanation points to the iOS touch rejection algorithm.
This algorithm is designed to ignore unintended touches, preventing them from accidentally triggering actions on the phone. If the algorithm is too sensitive, it could mistakenly reject intended touches, causing the screen to become temporarily unresponsive.
Another theory suggests that the thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro might be contributing to the issue. Compared to last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, the slimmer bezels could be making the screen more vulnerable to accidental touches, which the phone interprets as errors and rejects.
This isn’t the first time Apple has encountered issues with a newly released iPhone. Back in June 2010, the infamous Antennagate incident occurred when the iPhone 4 suffered from signal loss due to a new antenna placement.
When held a certain way, users experienced reduced signal strength, which led to Steve Jobs famously telling customers they were “holding their phone the wrong way.”
Apple eventually resolved the issue by giving away free rubber bumpers to prevent signal attenuation.
Temporary Fix
While Apple has yet to officially address the issue with the iPhone 16 Pro’s touch screen, one temporary solution might be using a phone case.
A case could cover the part of the screen that is causing the problem, reducing the chances of accidental touches triggering the unresponsiveness.
Apple is likely to deliver an iOS 18 update soon, which will hopefully resolve the issue for iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max users.
Until then, users may want to consider using a case or being cautious when handling their device to avoid triggering the unresponsive screen.
