X

iPhone 5 swipe glitch threatens Fruit Ninjas

The iPhone 5 and fifth-gen iPod don't seem to be able to handle rapid diagonal swiping, and the glitch could be in the hardware.

Eric Mack Contributing Editor
Eric Mack has been a CNET contributor since 2011. Eric and his family live 100% energy and water independent on his off-grid compound in the New Mexico desert. Eric uses his passion for writing about energy, renewables, science and climate to bring educational content to life on topics around the solar panel and deregulated energy industries. Eric helps consumers by demystifying solar, battery, renewable energy, energy choice concepts, and also reviews solar installers. Previously, Eric covered space, science, climate change and all things futuristic. His encrypted email for tips is ericcmack@protonmail.com.
Expertise Solar, solar storage, space, science, climate change, deregulated energy, DIY solar panels, DIY off-grid life projects. CNET's "Living off the Grid" series. https://www.cnet.com/feature/home/energy-and-utilities/living-off-the-grid/ Credentials
  • Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
See full bio
Eric Mack
The diagonal swiping glitch only shows up on the iPhone 5, not the iPhone 4S. Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

How many times have you been checking out a map of Flagstaff (or Salt Lake, Albuquerque, or Denver) in Apple Maps on your new iPhone 5 and then wanted to quickly swipe diagonally to the Four Corners monument only to find that iOS 6 suddenly goes lag and unresponsive?

Never? Really? Guess I'm the only one obsessed with such geographical oddities. Well, some game developers have been reporting issues with the iPhone 5 not responding to rapid diagonal swiping. If the bug is more than just an iOS software glitch, it could limit the functionality of certain gestures.

Related stories

The Next Web has surmised that because the glitch is not present on the iPhone 4S, but is also seen on the 5th generation iPod Touch, which uses the same new touch hardware as the iPhone 5, the issue is likely not with iOS 6 and not solved with a simple software update.

Check out the video demonstration below from Recombu, and don't be surprised if the skills of Fruit Ninjas who play on Android begin to far exceed those who slice melons on iOS.

I've reached out to Apple for a response, and will update this post once I hear back.