The iPhone 16 Pro made its debut last Friday, but users are already reporting some issues with the touchscreen functionality. As reported by 9to5Mac and various complaints on Reddit, many iPhone 16 Pro owners are experiencing problems where their taps and swipes are not registering on the screen. This is particularly problematic for tasks like scrolling and pressing buttons. It’s worth noting that users of the standard iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Plus are not experiencing this issue.
What seems to be causing this touchscreen malfunction? The thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays may be to blame. The accidental touch rejection algorithm appears to be overly sensitive, leading to this software glitch. This algorithm activates when the user’s fingers inadvertently touch the edge areas of the screen, which consequently causes their intended taps to go ignored.
The most frequent trigger for this issue appears to be a finger resting near the edge of the display nearest to the Camera Control button. However, this problem has been noticed along all four edges of the screen.
This situation occurs when a new touch is detected on the display, causing all subsequent touches to be ignored for a short duration. This is likely influenced by the extremely thin bezels of the iPhone 16 Pro models, which makes it easier for your skin to unintentionally touch the screen. Additionally, the problem is more pronounced for users who do not use a case, as cases tend to cover the edges and bezels of the device.
The unresponsive touchscreen only occurs when the device is actively being used, such as when navigating apps or swiping through home screens. It does not happen when the iPhone 16 Pro is locked or idle.
Reports of this issue have come from users running both iOS 18 and iOS 18.1 beta versions. Given that this seems to be a software-related problem, it’s likely that Apple will be able to resolve it through a forthcoming software update. Here’s hoping for a swift fix, since experiencing this glitch can be quite frustrating for users.