Apple's iPhone 5S Suffers 'Blue Screen of Death'

Thought the dreaded "Blue Screen of Death" (BSoD) only affected Windows computers? Not quite. According to reports, Apple's newest version of the iPhone, the iPhone 5S, can also suffer BSoD.

The Blue Screen of Death is an error screen that appears after a system crash. On Windows-based computers the BSoD appears when a system encounters an error from which it cannot recover.

In most cases, the only way to reclaim control of the system is to initiate a hard reboot. That often results in the loss of any unsaved data and a whole lot of cursing by the user.

No Single Explanation for iPhone Crashes

Now, it appears iPhone 5S users are encountering the issue. The problem seems to be emerging when iPhone users access iWork applications like Numbers, Pages, and Keynote. (Source: cnet.com)

However, others have reported encountering the issue while using FaceTime (Apple's answer to Microsoft's Skype) and the Safari Internet browser.

In recent days frustrated iPhone 5S users -- most of whom shelled out hundreds of dollars for Apple's newest smartphone after it launched last month -- have taken to YouTube to post videos of crashed systems.

In many cases the Blue Screen of Death lasts only a few moments and is followed by the screen going completely black. Then the system automatically reboots and the Apple logo appears.

As mentioned, there's no single path to the BSoD. "If I open a document in Numbers, then press the power button, the phone seems to power itself off almost instantly instead of just going to sleep," one user wrote in an Apple forum.

Another user complained that they were encountering the issue "when using the Pages app to open my saved resume and then trying to email it to someone."

Some Users Left with Crippled Smartphones

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to reboot their systems after encountering the BSoD. One user complained that their system got stuck at the loading screen, effectively making their brand new iPhone 5S "completely unusable". (Source: pcmag.com)

Apple has not yet commented on the problem.