What Apple said about the issue
In an internal memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers (spotted by MacRumors), “some customers may report their Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 is experiencing false touches on their display.”
Apple said some customers may describe the issue as “ghost” touches. The issue may cause the screen on affected Apple Watch models to “jump erratically” or exhibit other unexpected behavior, without any user interaction, the company noted. The memo said the issue can also result in an Apple Watch starting a phone call unintentionally or, preventing users from entering the device’s passcode.
The company has advised users to keep their Apple Watch’s software up to date. This suggests that Apple is expected to address the issue with an upcoming watchOS update.
However, Apple did not mention how widespread the issue is, or provide a timeframe for a potential fix. The memo also didn’t clarify if defective hardware is a contributing factor for this problem.
An X user named Stella Fudge noted that if users are experiencing false touch type symptoms on their Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2. The user also noted that Apple is currently aware of this issue and is investigating. The company has also asked service center staff not not to replace the watch for this issue but instead to tell users to wait for a software update to address it soon.