There sure seemed to be a lot of annoyed iPhone users as soon as they got their new iPhone 5s, thanks to Apple Maps, and its bugs and lack of Google Maps, though according to one study, Apple Maps have not been a problem for 90% of users.
I wonder what the percentage is on this glitch. iPhone 5 users have taken to Apple’s support forums to complain about a screen glitch (though there seems to be a general consensus, it’s really software-related). One thread begins with a user saying, “I just purchased my iPhone 5 yesterday and randomly I have been seeing a weird screen glitch that goes horizontally across the screen, has anyone else had this problem? P.S. if you google iPhone 5 screen glitch there is a YouTube video that someone else posted with the same problem that I am having.”
The same user then posted, “After looking at a couple of YouTube videos of the same problem it seems to happen when using the keyboard or using the keyboard to access iTunes or input your iTunes password. Is anyone else having this problem? And a reboot does nothing because it goes away on it on after a while or if you just hit cancel. However I have rebooted the phone more than once and this will be the third time it’s happened.”
Since the user posted on September 23, numerous others have complained about the issue. There are 87 complaints in that thread alone.
AppleInsider shares the following video, and says it was able to replicate the flickering glitch, though “not with regularity”.
“The issue appears to arise when users invoke the numbers and symbols keyboard by pressing the “.?123″ button in the bottom left corner of the device in portrait mode,” Neil Hughes reports.
According to various users in Apple’s forum, the glitch seems to happen when users enter their Apple ID password.
The issue does appear to be real, though probably not the biggest deal in the world. I doubt we’ll be seeing a public apology from CEO Tim Cook over this one.
Next week, Apple is holding event, where it is expected to unveil the iPad Mini and a new MacBook Pro.
