iOS 13’s three-finger text-editing gesture is playing havoc with games like ‘Fortnite’ and ‘PUBG’

Gaming is a big deal on iOS. Just look at Apple Arcade. But sometimes the device you’re playing on can cause a bit of a hassle.

That appears to be the case with iOS 13.0, which Apple released to the public yesterday, and games like the (still) mega-popular Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). Both titles are currently negatively impacted by Apple’s new triple-finger gesture with iOS 13.0, which allows a user to quickly launch a text-editing toolbar on the screen.

This is normally meant to work only when there is a text field that the user is directly interacting with. However, as players of the aforementioned and other games have noticed, the three-finger gesture can make the toolbar pop up just about anywhere. Even in the middle of a game.

PUBG is currently offering a pop-up notification that informs players that if they regularly play with three fingers, they should probably avoid updating to iOS 13.0. A fix is in the works, however, and as noted by 9to5Mac, the proper implementation of the three-finger text-editing gesture should rollout along with the forthcoming iOS 13.1 update, set to arrive on September 24.

In iOS 13.1, the triple-finger gesture will be enabled only in contexts where it makes sense — i.e., when an editable text view is in focus. iOS 13.1 also allows app developers to customize when and where the text-editing productivity gestures are active.

Unfortunately, until iOS 13.1 arrives, there is no way to disable the new text-editing gesture in iOS 13.0.

It’s a minor issue, all things considered, but for anyone who plays these games quite a bit it could definitely be a major annoyance. Luckily the fix is going to be released right around the corner.

If you’ve played Fortnite or PUBG since updating to iOS 13.0, have you run into this issue?