Apple is currently facing what has now been deemed #BatteryGate, as iPhone users have complained about their smartphones suddenly shutting down even while the charge is at 30 percent.
That problem has not yet been solved, but it looks like Apple is already facing another one.
Freezing Phone App On iPhones
There are now several threads on Apple's official support forums that has users complaining on the Phone app of their iPhone freezing often. It seems that the iPhone 7 is the model that is largely affected by the problem, though there are also reports of some iPhone 6s and iPhone 5s units experiencing this.
One user claims that whenever he tries to access the Phone app on his iPhone 7 Plus, it freezes. He has tried restarting, resetting and reinstalling iOS 10 through iTunes, but the app continues to freeze.
Another user said that the freezing occurs whenever he tries to make an outgoing call, with the only way to gain back access to his iPhone 7 being a soft reset. The user is only experiencing problems with his Phone app and has tried a variety of quick fixes such as turning off iCloud and toggling Wi-Fi connectivity to no avail.
Will Apple Fix The Problem Soon?
Apple has not yet acknowledged what seems to be a widespread bug, which is also what the company did at the onset of #BatteryGate and the Touch Disease issue, over which Apple saw a class-action lawsuit filed against it, forcing the company to launch a repair program to address the problem.
There have been several unofficial fixes that users have suggested to try to solve the problem, with one of the more prominent ones requiring a request to carriers to carry out a formal network reset while deactivating Exchange contacts. However, the method does not always fix the problem, and it is a very inconvenient fix for enterprise users.
Instead, users are hoping that Apple will apply the necessary fix to the problem with the next version of the company's mobile operating system, the iOS 10.2. The public release of the operating system is expected soon, as its fifth beta version has already been rolled out to developers and testers.
Apple Problems Pile Up
The freezing Phone app is the latest problem to add to the stack that Apple is currently facing.
In connection with #BatteryGate, Apple recently reiterated that the problem of sudden shutdowns only covers a small number of iPhone 6s units, with investigations launched by the company revealing no other factors that contribute to the problem.
In addition, Apple said that it is an intentional feature for iPhones to shut down under certain conditions, which could be why users are seeing their devices suddenly turn off.
The company is also facing declining demand for the iPhone 7 as the year winds down, primarily due to customers already looking forward to the iPhone 8.
