More and more iPhone 16 devices are being delivered to keen early users, but some are experiencing various problems with their shiny new iPhones.
All four iPhone 16s — the basic iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max — are good in various ways, with two of them sitting on our best phones list. But that doesn't detract from widely-reported issues with the phones' displays and cameras, and some possible durability disappointment.
We've gathered many issues reported across the internet, including some we've noticed ourselves on our own iPhones. So if you're experiencing a iPhone 16 issue right now, chances are you're not alone.
iPhone 16 issues: Display
Two different issues affect the display of the new iPhone 16 lineup. One appears to be a surprising limiter on the refresh rate, and the other seems to have a freezing problem with the touchscreen.
Slow refresh rate
The limiting 'downgrade' was spotted by the regular Samsung leaker Ice Universe. Specifically, this issue appears to affect Pro model iPhones that are supposed to have a 120Hz refresh rate. The standard and Plus models continue to be locked to 60Hz.
"Don't confuse the elegance and fluency of animation. For example, the animation of iOS 18 is still elegant, but it is not smooth," they said on X. "Anyone can feel that iOS 18 still limits the refresh rate of most scenes to 80Hz. For Android users who are used to 120Hz, iOS 18 looks really not smooth."
They claim that the iPhone's refresh rate won't go above 80Hz, with some video evidence. The video shows that the iPhone never goes above 80 with a couple of dekes toward 120Hz, but nothing consistent enough to count.
If anyone still doesn't understand this, please watch this video. When scrolling through the list, iOS18 is always locked at 80Hz, and 120Hz is rarely seen.source：weibo 孙斌1990 pic.twitter.com/lAJ10vBRadSeptember 23, 2024
It was suggested by Wccftech that perhaps Apple is reducing the refresh rate to conserve battery life while you're scrolling, especially if it's rapid.
As with all of these issues, take it with a grain of salt, as it may not affect everyone, but it would be surprising if Apple is limiting the refresh rate on phones even if it is variable.
Frozen screens
Apple addressed this issue with iOS 18.0.1, but the original description of the problem follows
The next display issue is one that we were able to prove is affecting the iPhone 16 Pro.
People on Reddit reported that if you accidentally touch the screen near the new camera control button, the whole screen can become unresponsive.
We tested it out of one of our new iPhone 16 devices for our reviews and confirmed that this issue is real. Several commenters claimed in our video that the problem might be iOS 18-related as some older iPhones are also freezing similarly. 9to5Mac reported that the issue might affect all four display sides.
@tomsguide ♬ Yikes On Bikes - Atomica Music
The issue may be due to the built-in palm rejection algorithm that may be overly sensitive and prone to overreacting, causing the phone to freeze.
For now, the only real fix available is to avoid resting your palm or fingers for too long on the edges of the iPhone. If you have an iPhone 16, especially avoid the display portion near the Camera Control button. It has been suggested that iPhones, in some cases, reduce this problem but don't make it go away.
It won't be fixed until Apple organizes a software solution.
iPhone 16 issues: Camera
We've seen a few reports that the camera app on new iPhones is not working properly. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to reproduce this one. Recently, we even pitted the iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra in a 200-photo face-off without any issues.
However, several people have claimed that in iOS 18, the camera app can glitch or become very stuttery, especially when recording video. One Redditor reported that the camera app opens with controls, but the "image' is a black screen. They claimed that closing the app made the iPhone "super sluggish" and other apps failed to load. Another said the camera app was stuttering when recording video and wouldn't even record.
There have also been accounts, specifically for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, that the Camera app crashes when opening it from the lock screen via the Camera Control, or just after taking a photo.
For all issues, it was suggested that resetting the phone or rebooting would help. The affected owners reported that a reboot helped, but the issue eventually crops up again.
Finally, the other issue we've seen reported is how finicky the slide controls on the new camera control button are. People have said that the sliding can accidentally go off, inducing unwanted zooms in or out. However, this one may be user error, and we found in our testing that the new button takes some trial and error to understand how sensitive it can be.
iPhone 16: Durability
Several drop test videos were recently released as various YouTubers and other sites got their hands on the newest iPhones.
So far, it's a mixed bag. One video showed the iPhone 16 Pro giving up the ghost after just four drops, while last year's iPhone 15 Pro lasted for 12 drops up to a height of 20 feet. Some of this could be attributed to the thinner bezels on the iPhone 16, which gives it less cushion.
Another video from a different group featured the iPhone 16 lasting much longer. It showcased the strength of the new Ceramic Shield on display, which produced less severe cracking than the iPhone 15. Their tests also showed better heat performance, bolstering Apple's claims that internal changes to the iPhone16 would lead to longer sustained performance.
To be fair, those videos are putting the iPhone 16 through an extreme battery of tests. The day-to-day user probably isn't going to repeatedly drop their phone, unless they're incredibly unlucky or gifted with butterfingers, in which case you should pick up one of the best iPhone 16 Pro cases.
If anything, these videos show how much of a beating the latest phones can take.
iPhone 16 issues: Outlook
To reiterate, every product launch will feature devices that plainly do not work out of the box.
Other than the frozen touchscreen issue, most of these reported flaws appear to be singular or in such small numbers that the average iPhone 16 owner shouldn't have an issue.
In the meantime, watch for security updates as Apple patches iOS 18 vulnerabilities and hopefully produces a software solution for the palm algorithm.
More from Tom's Guide
