You know, many have predicted for years now that the world would come to an end in 2012. I didn’t want to believe it — perhaps I’m just an unabashed optimist — but now, it has come to my attention it’s really happening. The end is near and it’s because the once presumably flawless Apple iPhone 5 is disappointingly not flawless.
The reason is the strange way the iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch both respond to diagonal swipes. Not just any diagonal swipes though, you have to rapidly swipe diagonally multiple times. After a few seconds, you’ll notice the screen fails to respond briefly and then picks up again if you continue to swipe through the lag.
I was able to reproduce the issue with my iPhone 5 in the Mail app when scrolling through emails in my inbox, so it is in fact real. It’s shown in the video embedded below as well.
You might be wondering why this would ever affect you because, after all, how many people actually swipe diagonally numerous times at a fast pace? The glitch was discovered by a developer and that’s precisely who this may affect. Certain games like Fruit Ninja or Infinity Blade might be affected because they rely on fast-paced swiping. Although, one commenter on iMore pointed out: “I would guess if this is a wide spread issue Infinity Blade would behave oddly. It does not.”
If you can replicate this issue on your own iPhone 5 or iPod touch 5, does swipegate seem like something that could hinder the way you use your device? Voice your opinion in the comments below.