How Apple Can Solve Its iPhone X, XS Flashlight Epidemic

Apparently, some iPhone users are complaining about how easy it is to access the flashlight on newer iPhones.

To be clear, quite a few users of iPhone X and XS series devices have reported frequently flipping on the flashlight accidentally from the Lock screen. According to USA Today, about 488 iPhone users have reported it as a “problem” to Apple.

Specifically, those complaints are levied at the Flashlight icon in the lower left-hand corner of the Lock screen on iPhone X and XS models, specifically.

Users explain that it’s simply too easy to activate the flashlight while holding or trying to unlock an iPhone.

It’s not just the flashlight, either. Other users report being annoyed by inadvertently activating Apple Pay or taking accidental screenshots while on the Lock screen.

So while iPhones are intuitive and easy-to-use platforms, it seems that certain features are a bit too easy to use. That, in turn, leads to annoying accidental activations for several features.

How You Can Solve These Issues

If you’re annoyed by accidental activations of Apple Pay, screenshots, or the flashlight, there isn’t a perfect solution to deal with them. But there are a couple things you can try to make your iPhone life a bit easier.

• If you accidentally turn on the flashlight, a very slight swipe left on an iPhone’s screen will quickly deactivate it.
• If you’re annoyed by accidental Apple Pay activations, you can disable them in Settings > Face ID & Passcode. Then toggle Wallet off.
• There’s no way to deactivate the screenshot function on the Lock screen. On the other hand, there is a Screenshots folder in Photos that should allow you to easily select and delete accidental images.

How Apple Can Solve This

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s a way that Apple could mitigate these issues. Two words: configurable shortcuts.

Thus far, Apple hasn’t really made its iPhones customizable to the degree that Android devices are. For the most part, that’s due to iOS’ simplicity and its strong security standards.

But adding the ability to configure certain shortcuts, like button presses or icons on the Lock screen, could help users personalize their devices to suit their own needs and preferences.

Then again, Apple probably isn’t too likely to make its devices much more customizable in the foreseeable future. But a simple way to change out the shortcuts on the Lock screen isn’t too much to ask for. Just think about how Apple used to allow users to map functionality to the triple Home button click.

At the very least, Apple should introduce the ability to disable the flashlight shortcut on the Lock screen for those users who don’t want or use them. (It already does so for Apple Pay, so adding that ability for a flashlight doesn’t seem too far-fetched.)