The iPhone 16 is being delivered to more and more eager early users, but some are experiencing a variety of problems with their shiny new iPhones

The four iPhone 16s-the basic iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max-are all excellent in many ways, and two of them are on our list of best smartphones However, there is no denying the widely reported display and camera issues, as well as the potentially disappointing durability

We've collected a number of problems reported on the Internet, including some we've noticed ourselves on our own iPhones If you are experiencing issues with your iPhone 16 right now, chances are you are not alone

Two different issues are affecting the displays on the new iPhone 16 lineup One seems to be an alarming refresh rate limiter, and the other seems to be a touchscreen freeze issue

Slow refresh rate

The limiter “downgrade” was discovered by Ice Universe, a regular Samsung leaker Specifically, the issue appears to affect the Pro model iPhones, which are supposed to have a 120Hz refresh rate Standard and Plus models remain fixed at 60Hz

“Do not confuse elegance and fluency of animation For example, the animations on iOS 18 are still elegant, but not smooth for Android users accustomed to 120Hz, iOS 18 doesn't really look smooth”

They claim that the iPhone refresh rate never exceeds 80Hz, and they have a video to prove it According to the video, the iPhone never goes above 80 Hz and moves a couple of times toward 120 Hz, but not consistently enough to count

It was suggested by Wccftech that perhaps Apple is reducing the refresh rate to save battery life while scrolling, especially if it is 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 of the phone, even if it is variable

Screen freezing

Apple addressed this issue in iOS 1801, but the original description of this issue is as follows:

The following display issue is one that could prove to be affecting the iPhone 16 Pro

People on Reddit have reported that accidentally touching the screen near the new camera control buttons can cause the entire screen to become unresponsive

We tested this on one of the new iPhone 16 devices for review and confirmed that this issue is real Several commenters on our video claimed that this issue may be iOS 18 related, as some older iPhones are freezing as well; 9to5Mac reported that the issue may affect all four sides of the display

The problem may be due to the built-in palm rejection algorithm

For now, the only real fix available is to avoid placing your palm or fingers on the edge of the iPhone for too long iPhone 16 owners should avoid the display area, especially near the camera control buttons iPhones, in some cases, have been known to have this problem It has been suggested that the iPhone can alleviate, but not eliminate, the problem

Until Apple sorts out a software solution, this problem will not be resolved

We have seen several reports of the new iPhone camera app not working properly Unfortunately, we have not been able to reproduce this Recently, we pitted an iPhone 16 Pro Max against a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with 200 photos and had no problems

However, several people have claimed that the camera app can be glitchy and very sluggish in iOS 18, especially when shooting video One Redditor reported that the camera app opens with controls, but the “image” is a black screen They claimed that when the app is closed, the iPhone goes “super slow” and other apps cannot load Others reported that the camera app stutters when taking video and does not even record

There have also been reports of the camera app crashing when opening the camera app via the camera controls from the lock screen or immediately after taking a photo, especially on the iPhone 16 Pro Max

For all issues, a reset or restart of the phone is suggested to resolve the issue Affected owners report that rebooting helped, but the problem eventually reappeared

Finally, the other issue reported is how subtle the slide control on the new camera control button is Some users say that the slide can accidentally disengage, triggering unwanted zooming in and out However, this could be user error, and our testing has shown that it takes some trial and error to understand how sensitive the new buttons are

Recently, various YouTubers and other sites have gotten their hands on the latest iPhones and have released several drop test videos

So far, there are mixed reviews In one video, last year's iPhone 15 Pro withstood 12 drops to a height of 20 feet, while the iPhone 16 Pro gave up the ghost after only four drops Some of this may be due to the iPhone 16's thinner bezel and less cushioning

In another video by a different group, the iPhone 16 lasted much longer This video showcased the strength of the new ceramic shield on the display, which cracked less severely than the iPhone 15 Thermal performance was also improved in their tests, supporting Apple's claim that internal changes to the iPhone 16 lead to longer lasting performance

To be fair, these videos put the iPhone16 through extreme testing The everyday user is unlikely to drop their phone more than once unless they are incredibly unlucky or have the gift of flap fingers

If anything, these videos show how well modern cell phones can withstand the shock

Again, all product launches feature devices that clearly do not work out of the box

Other than the touchscreen freezing issue, most of the reported defects appear to be so one-off or so few in number that the average iPhone 16 owner is unlikely to have a problem

In the meantime, watch for security updates as Apple patches vulnerabilities in iOS 18 and hopefully creates a palm algorithm software solution