Tech Desk 
Sep 23, 2024
Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro users are expressing frustration over a recent technical bug of touchscreen issues causing some taps and swipes to be ignored. The problem has affected various interactions like scrolling, pressing buttons, and missed presses on keys on the virtual keyboard.
However, reports from iPhone 16 Pro owners reveal intermittent touchscreen responsiveness issues, making it difficult to use their devices seamlessly.
It is a software problem rather than one of hardware. It is the non-intentional touch rejection algorithm as implemented in iOS that causes intended touches to be ignored in the first place.
Read more: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Slim rumoured to boast 120Hz displays
The system rejects touches that have occurred accidentally on parts of the other sections of the screen, where they are closest to the Camera Control or at the edges of the screen.
This problem is worsened by the iPhone 16 Pro's having the thinnest ever bezels on its screen. Users' thinnest skin can accidentally touch at the edge of the display.
What causes iPhone 16 Pro touchscreen issues
Many things contribute to problem:
A natural grip of a phone with fingers wrapping over the edges can cause accidental rejection of touch input. The use of the phone without a case would make it easier to rest fingers over the skinny screen borders, which can cause touches to be ignored.
The problem also comes into play more often when the phone is used without a case.
The iPhone 16 Pro bug occurs on iPhones running iOS 18 and the beta version of iOS 18.1. More importantly, though, the bug does not occur when the device is just sitting there idle on the lock screen-it only manifests itself when unlocked.
Software update predicted
The problem appears to be software-based, and Apple would fix it with updated software. The missed taps and swipes would be sorted by adjusting the accidental touch rejection algorithm.
If the case is software-based, owners of the iPhone 16 Pro should look forward to a fix that would get their screens back in action as smoothly as they were originally.
