iOS 9.3 not only brought with it new features and bug fixes; it may have introduced a bug of its own.
As 9to5Mac notes, Apple’s support forums and Twitter have lit up in recent days with reports that tapping links in Safari—among other apps—in iOS 9.3 causes the app to freeze. According to Apple Support Communities members, the crash bug impacts a wide range of apps, including Safari, Mail, Messages, and Chrome for iOS. (In the case of Chrome, users report that long-pressing a link, which opens a link in a new tab, bypasses this bug.
9to5Mac says that the freezing bug seems to mostly occur on newer iOS devices, such as the iPhone 6s Plus; the site also says that it’s seen the issue affect some users running iOS 9.2.1 as well, but characterizes those instances as “sporadic.”
Some users report that disabling JavaScript seems to resolve the bug in Safari, but others note that the issue still persists in other apps. Given the fact that the bug seems to mostly impact users of newer iPhones, both 9to5Mac and SlashGear speculate that a bug affecting the 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus may be to blame.
Apple has yet to officially comment on this annoyance, but according to one Apple forum member who spoke to a support representative, the company is aware of the bug and is working on a fix. Here’s hoping. In the meantime, let us know if you’ve run into this problem on iOS 9.3, and if anything fixed it for you.
Author: Nick Mediati
Nick is a freelance contributor and a former editor for TechHive and PCWorld. He likes puns and the color yellow.