Your iPhone X screen may slow down in cold weather, but a fix is coming

Little over 24 hours after a report on Reddit noting that an iPhone X started to become unresponsive when used in cold weather, Apple has already acknowledged the issue and says it's working on a fix.

Darus 214 on Reddit was the first to raise the issue, claiming that as soon as he walks outside into cold temperatures the screen starts to become unresponsive, which meant he isn't able to swipe on websites and it doesn't recognize his finger easily.

Considering that's the main way of interacting with the iPhone X, this can get very frustrating.

Apple has issued a statement to Loop In Sight that says it has already heard the reports of the issue, but that it's often the case that the screen unresponsiveness stops on its own after a few moments.

That said, the company is still working on a software update that it hopes will tackle the issue altogether. Exactly how a software update will tackle this issue remains to be seen as a problem with the screen freezing suggests it may be a hardware fault instead.

Working on a fix

Apple said: “We are aware of instances where the iPhone X screen will become temporarily unresponsive to touch after a rapid change to a cold environment. After several seconds the screen will become fully responsive again. This will be addressed in an upcoming software update.”

Apple also has some guidance on using iOS devices in low or high conditions and recommends keeping it at an ambient temperature of between 0C and 35C.

A post on the Apple website from September states, "Using an iOS device in very cold conditions outside of its operating range might temporarily shorten battery life and could cause the device to turn off. 

"Battery life will return to normal when you bring the device back to higher ambient temperatures."

Basically, you shouldn't be using your iPhone in either very cold or really hot conditions, and that's usually the case for most phones in 2017. Hopefully this iPhone X software update should help fix it for those users who need to use their phone in the cold.

Via BGR

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.