iPhone 16 Pro touchscreen can become unresponsive

Millions of people received their iPhone 16 units on Friday or bought one in stores. We’re going to see a lot more real-life use tests for all four iPhone 16 models, extending in scope well beyond what the first reviews could deliver.

Early buyers are also the most likely to discover any issues with the new devices. It looks like the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max have a display issue that is impacting some people.

It appears that the iPhone 16 Pro touchscreen can become unresponsive at times. This will prevent taps and swipes, and it certainly seems an annoying issue. The good news is that it doesn’t appear to be a hardware issue. Instead, the display might be too sensitive when registering multiple touches. A software update might fix the bug in the future.

Interestingly, two of the iPhone 16 Pro’s signature features might be to blame. That’s the ultra-slim bezels and the Camera Control button.

According to 9to5MaciPhone 15 Pro owners posted complaints on social media about the touchscreen issues. The blog was able to replicate the problem, and speculates it’s a software god. The phone’s touch rejection algorithm might be too sensitive. That’s why the phone ignores intended touches.

Some users found that resting their finger around the Camera Control button triggers the issue. If you’re holding the phone in your right hand while using it, you might touch that area unintentionally.

The ultra-thin bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro models might increase the risk of accidentally touching the screen while holding it. Once an accidental touch is registered, the rest of the screen might become unresponsive.

Mastodon user Khaos Tian demonstrated the issue. The iPhone 16 Pro’s palm rejection algorithm kicks in when the display is touched accidentally. The rest of the screen is unresponsive after that. After he removed his right hand from the screen, it registered touches again. He tried to trigger the same issue on an iPhone 13 mini, but the 2021 phone had no problem registering touches.

A Reddit thread offers various examples of the iPhone 16 Pro touchscreen issues. Some people could trigger it even with a case, while others found the case would provide additional protection. Also, the issue doesn’t affect the phone when the screen is locked.

The touchscreen bug seems more likely to impact right-handed iPhone users the most. They might rest their palm on the screen while scrolling with the same hand and discover the screen is unresponsive. I hold smartphones in my left hand, so I’d be less likely to trigger it. Then again, I did not buy one of the Pros this year. I chose the iPhone 16 Plus instead, and I’m yet to pick it up.

That said, it’s unclear how many iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max owners are experiencing the issue.

However, everything we’ve seen indicates no issue with the screen itself. Apple will likely fix the touch algorithms with a software update in the coming weeks. Remember that iOS 18.1 is supposed to drop in October to enable some Apple Intelligence features on iPhone 15 Pros and all iPhone 16 models.