iPhone 16 Pro Max Touch issues with 16 Pro / Pro Max display

[kshitijraina]

I am pretty sure that the only thing 18.0.1 solved was the issue that the screen would completely lock up if you touched the area near the camera control button.

My "defective" 16 Pro Max has lag in the keyboard even if it is flat on a table and I only touch the screen with my index finger. So it is surely not an issue of palm rejection in that case.

I always thought it was a software issue but after my experience with the replacement, which is 100% flawless on exactly the same software version as my laggy 16 Pro Max makes me think that the hardware must be related somehow.

If it is a defect that can be solved with software update or not is unknown. It could be related to different panel manufacturers and that only one of them is properly tuned. If that is the case, then it could be solved.

My current best guess is that it is hardware. I believe the lag is caused by early production issues with the display panel. But again, it is just my guess. In any case, there are 16 Pro (Max) out there with absolutely zero issues and if I had a laggy unit I would replace it until I got a good one.

Just want to know one more thing, does the new phone miss touch input when pressing multiple times quickly? As you mentioned about it not being laggy!

 

[makoru]

See attached for the approximate areas. Thanks

Indeed, when you click on that area of the screen, the keyboard does not respond. However, if I open the Notes application and draw or paint on that sector there is no problem, the screen responds, so it must be a matter of software. When doing a screen test everything is also OK. It's the only problem I have, in that area of the keyboard, only keyboard. I bought my iPhone 16 Pro Max a week ago.

 

[richard371]

Exactly the same thing happens to me... I did a screen test and everything came out perfect, I hope it's a software problem. On the other hand, screen protectors reduce sensitivity, without a protector everything works OK...

Mine passed the screen diagnostic but does seem a little less sensitive at the edges indicated in this screen shot. If I hit the very right half of the P and backspace it won't register. I'm not going to bother with an exchange right now as going to the apple store, swapping, restoring everything is a huge hassle and there is no guarantee the replacement will fix it. I have AppleCare so I'm going to wait until something more solid that this is 100% a hardware issue and all replacement screens are fixed.

 

[richard371]

Has any body with this issue tried this test in several of the store models? If some are flawless and some have the issue, then it could be a hardware flaw with a certain batch or manufacturer of the touch panels. I think it will be hard for things to be consistent here maybe due to hand sizes, conductivity, screen protector etc.

 

[jajo.j]

Just want to know one more thing, does the new phone miss touch input when pressing multiple times quickly? As you mentioned about it not being laggy!

Never. The new unit is flawless and a dream to type on comparing with my launch day 16PM that is very laggy. It is now sent to Apple for examination.

Actually my new 16PM feels even smoother than my old 15PM. Very happy.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

Never. The new unit is flawless and a dream to type on comparing with my launch day 16PM that is very laggy. It is now sent to Apple for examination.

Actually my new 16PM feels even smoother than my old 15PM. Very happy.

Yeah, mine is too. I’ve tested and tested and I can’t get it to fail so I’m gonna leave it as I’m very happy.
What I don’t understand is if it was software then no matter how many phones I exchange, it would always fail.

 

[makoru]

Mine passed the screen diagnostic but does seem a little less sensitive at the edges indicated in this screen shot. If I hit the very right half of the P and backspace it won't register. I'm not going to bother with an exchange right now as going to the apple store, swapping, restoring everything is a huge hassle and there is no guarantee the replacement will fix it. I have AppleCare so I'm going to wait until something more solid that this is 100% a hardware issue and all replacement screens are fixed.

The same thing happens to me with the keyboard, but when I open the notes application and draw or paint in that area there is no problem. The screen is sensitive in that sector when painting or drawing, that's why I think it's a software issue, but you have to wait. Otherwise I don't have any other problem, just that area of the keyboard.

 

[jajo.j]

Yeah, mine is too. I’ve tested and tested and I can’t get it to fail so I’m gonna leave it as I’m very happy.
What I don’t understand is if it was software then no matter how many phones I exchange, it would always fail.

Hardware is related somehow. It could be an issue with software tuning for a specific hardware combination that needs refinement. Apple use both LG and Samsung for the displays.

My gut feeling now is defective hardware but I am just guessing.

 

[richard371]

Ageed. There could be a couple different models of touch panels with 2 different divers with 1 driver not being tuned correctly for the ones with the issue.

 

[makoru]

Hardware is related somehow. It could be an issue with software tuning for a specific hardware combination that needs refinement. Apple use both LG and Samsung for the displays.

My gut feeling now is defective hardware but I am just guessing.

But don't you have the "problem" of the right end of the P, or the backspace key?

 

[jajo.j]

But don't you have the "problem" of the right end of the P, or the backspace key?

Not a problem that I notice in everyday use unless I deliberately try to hit the very edge of the screen (that I never do). Most of the button responds perfectly fine except the pixels all the way to the right edge.

 

[makoru]

I just tested my old iPhone 13 Pro Max and it has the same "problem" at the end of the P, Q and Backspace keys. And the truth is that's the only "problem" that my iPhone 16 Pro Max presents and it doesn't bother me at all because I write by touching the middle of the key... My son (he inherited my iPhone 13 Pro Max) treated me like a crazy old man... he told me that no one puts their finger there, he tried my iPhone and found it perfect, I'm calmer now. I don't have other screen sensitivity problems or slowing... Just perfect.

 

[makoru]

Not a problem that I notice in everyday use unless I deliberately try to hit the very edge of the screen (that I never do). Most of the button responds perfectly fine except the pixels all the way to the right edge.

Exactly the same thing happens to me, nothing more than that. My iPhone 16 PM is perfect. Thank you!, I was getting scared with all this...

 

[richard371]

Exactly the same thing happens to me, nothing more than that. My iPhone 16 PM is perfect. Thank you!, I was getting scared with all this...

Yea maybe this is a non issue then for me also.

 

[Tasslopez222]

I’m having these exact same touch screen and keyboard issues on my iPhone 16 pro max. But I had exchanged my desert for a black replacement and still have the exact same issues on the black one as I did with the desert.
Unless I got two hardware defective ones, is the issue software?

 

[makoru]

I’m having these exact same touch screen and keyboard issues on my iPhone 16 pro max. But I had exchanged my desert for a black replacement and still have the exact same issues on the black one as I did with the desert.
Unless I got two hardware defective ones, is the issue software?

The keyboard “issue” (end of the letter P and backspace) is a software issue. If the rest works well, as is my case, don't worry.

 

[Pudlo]

The keyboard “issue” (end of the letter P and backspace) is a software issue. If the rest works well, as is my case, don't worry.

haha funny how sure you are. So maybe explain to us all how the hell two devices with same spec and same software, with complete clean installation and one is flawless and second one is laggy and very ******. Any arguments on your your thesis? Like keep in mind for years there was no macbook keyboard problem, and people who were having keyboard issiuses were called stupid and all other names. And at the and after years Apple decided to recall the devices, ofc after years when osme of them were to old, or lost warranty or so they waited jsut to limit the number of devices they would have to exchange. Looking at this forum it is more then clear it can be some kind of a hardware issue. so stop acting like you know more then the others and stop defending Apple, it is a whole month from officical realease, if it is software...where is the fix? This topic is month old and in this time we get at least 3 new software betas and none solved the issuie...why? Is Apple that stupid that they can't solve a basic touch issue? OR maybe they don't want to admit their release 1k phones are full of bugs and faulty displays? sorry but I would return any iphone with any even smallest sign of bad touch behavior, unless you have an Apple Care.

 

[Pudlo]

delete

 

[makoru]

haha funny how sure you are. So maybe explain to us all how the hell two devices with same spec and same software, with complete clean installation and one is flawless and second one is laggy and very ******. Any arguments on your your thesis? Like keep in mind for years there was no macbook keyboard problem, and people who were having keyboard issiuses were called stupid and all other names. And at the and after years Apple decided to recall the devices, ofc after years when osme of them were to old, or lost warranty or so they waited jsut to limit the number of devices they would have to exchange. Looking at this forum it is more then clear it can be some kind of a hardware issue. so stop acting like you know more then the others and stop defending Apple, it is a whole month from officical realease, if it is software...where is the fix? This topic is month old and in this time we get at least 3 new software betas and none solved the issuie...why? Is Apple that stupid that they can't solve a basic touch issue? OR maybe they don't want to admit their release 1k phones are full of bugs and faulty displays? sorry but I would return any iphone with any even smallest sign of bad touch behavior, unless you have an Apple Care.

You lack reading comprehension. In addition to reading the context of the thread of the conversation I had above. Have a great one!

 

[zkap]

I have the same problem with the touch screen

I contacted apple support and they installed some profile to take logs but still they find no issue and i went to genius bar at my country and then they detected multi touch screen has issue and they gave me a new replacement and BUILD is july 2024

so far touches has been good and doesnt miss keys anymore but there is still one issue

Anything at the end of the red line cant be touched or sensed

I tried P , Q , SHIFT , ABC/123 TOGGLE

All cant touch but i used assistive touch and toggle the ball over to those edges and it can detect

so i m pretty sure its a software issue instead of hardware

Anyone else encounter this ?

FWIW, this is exactly the same for me on my 15 Pro which is on iOS 17 still. On both sides of the screen it's the same on the edges, I guess palm rejection. Until I saw your post I never even thought to test this, never noticed it. I guess it's normal.

 

[joedajoester]

FWIW, this is exactly the same for me on my 15 Pro which is on iOS 17 still. On both sides of the screen it's the same on the edges, I guess palm rejection. Until I saw your post I never even thought to test this, never noticed it. I guess it's normal.

I tested this as well. It seems less pronounced on the 15 pro max because it doesn’t have as small of a border around the display. Since I can reach so close to the edge of the display with this phone, it seems to make it more obvious that the entire edge of the display is dead to touch. Palm rejection seems too strong.

I tested in diagnostics mode and the keyboard that shows up does in fact respond to taps a lot closer to the edge of the display. This is most likely a software issue. I submitted more feedback to Apple and I suggest you all do after updating to 18.1, which does not resolve this issue.

Btw I have confirmed this issue across four different 16 pro max phones. Two from the same pre order. One from a friend in a different county and another friend on the other side of the country. So if this is a hardware issue, it is widespread and there may be a LOT of phones affected.

 

[Pudlo]

You lack reading comprehension. In addition to reading the context of the thread of the conversation I had above. Have a great one!

Quick summary of last 4 pages special for you:

I've been very surprised at how fast and responsive my new 16 Pro Max is , it's been 10/10.

The camera also seems more better and the pictures more sharper, camera pictures on my launch 16 Pro Max were very washed out.

I've learnt my lesson to never buy any phone at launch, better to wait a month or two.

I have two 16 Pro Max - one with sluggish touch and one flawless. Both are made in China. I doubt the assembly country has anything to do with it.

Today i was in Apple store, for diagnosis and test of display!
My iPhone have a built of july.
Test has show the problem with touch, upper on left and right side on dynamic island

I mean "hardware defect" instead of "hardware component." I do think it could be connected to a hardware component responding differently to the software, since panels are sourced from different companies.

Well it can very well be a hardware defect. We have no idea. All I know is that it is not an isolated software issue.

Worst case: defective display panels in some 16 Pro Max. This is fully possible.

Best case: A software tuning issue that currently only affects units with a specific hardware combination.

Thanks for clearing that out, think this brings us to another interesting speculation point. What if they’re actually having out-of-spec variations on the screens (which I would btw classify as hardware defect) this can in some extent be handled with software fix, but a bit more challenging to fix in a good way without also bringing new issues to the table.

The screen on my 16 Pro Max is sometimes unresponsive and this affects the autocorrect as it misses letters and makes up some bizarre letter combinations.

Regardless what the root cause is, there should never be a lottery to buy a device that costs as much as a decent pre-owned car.

This happened to me on day one of using my phone. So it’s clearly not the screen protector.

No change for me, still having the same issues on 18.1 RC

Installed 18.1 RC on my 16 Pro yesterday. Issue is definitely still there on my phone.

Never. The new unit is flawless and a dream to type on comparing with my launch day 16PM that is very laggy. It is now sent to Apple for examination.

Hardware is related somehow. It could be an issue with software tuning for a specific hardware combination that needs refinement. Apple use both LG and Samsung for the displays.

vs

The keyboard “issue” (end of the letter P and backspace) is a software issue.

So maybe instead of attacking me personally just be so kind and give some arguments supporting your line of thinking? Or maybe it is you who lack reading comprehension and lack any arguments?

 

[Fred Zed]

FWIW, this is exactly the same for me on my 15 Pro which is on iOS 17 still. On both sides of the screen it's the same on the edges, I guess palm rejection. Until I saw your post I never even thought to test this, never noticed it. I guess it's normal.

I think I’ve never noticed this recently. Perhaps because it never caused me issues. So yet if I try and tap that 30% towards the end of the space bar it won’t respond. Doesn’t really concern me that much. But I certainly hope Apple resolve it for others that it does cause issues with.

 

[zkap]

I think I’ve never noticed this recently. Perhaps because it never caused me issues. So yet if I try and tap that 30% towards the end of the space bar it won’t respond. Doesn’t really concern me that much. But I certainly hope Apple resolve it for others that it does cause issues with.

Yeah, since I didn't notice this before, I don't care about it and don't consider it a problem, though I imagine Pro Max owners will notice it more due to bigger keys.

So I played with this a little and my 15P (iOS 17) and the wife's 16PM (didn't check which version) behave exactly the same. The screens are equally responsive in all areas and this thing with parts of the keyboard not responding is software. I tested it by trying to not just tap, but tap and hold and then drag my finger up or down. So if I tap on the edge part of the p / q / backspace / uppercase, it doesn't register, but if I hold my finger there and slide up for example, after I begin sliding (without moving my finger to the centre) it registers. Same on both sides. Also swiping up and down in an e-mail works perfectly fine even if I am dragging my finger on the very edge of the screen, so the screen itself is responsive throughout, it's just that iOS locks the edges in certain situations. For example, trying to interact with the very edge of the screen doesn't work on the home screen (whereas it works in Mail), I guess to avoid activating jiggle mode, so clearly edges of the screen are temporarily software-locked in some apps/situations.

 

[richard371]

I’ve discovered more problems I never really had on this forum lol.