Justin Bieber has taken aim at Apple in a viral post, threatening to put the company’s employees in a “rear naked choke hold” over what he calls a frustrating Messages interface problem on the iPhone. The Canadian pop star posted his complaint on X, sparking a mix of humour, debate, and tech commentary across social media.
Bieber’s complaint about the Messages UI
Bieber’s frustration stems from the small microphone icon that appears in the Messages text field on iPhones. The icon’s behaviour changes based on context. When the text box is empty, it acts as a dictation button. After typing something, the button shifts to become the Send icon, then switches back to the microphone after the message is sent.
This switching is what Bieber says is causing trouble.
“If I hit this dictation button after sending a text and it beeps and stops my music one more time,” he wrote on X, “I’m gonna find everyone at Apple and put them in a rear naked choke hold.”
He added that even disabling dictation does not solve the problem. Instead, the icon changes into an audio message recorder, which also pauses music and still sits in the same location. “The send button should not have multiple functions in the same spot,” he said.
Users familiar with the Messages layout sympathised, noting the microphone icon is positioned directly above common keyboard letters and suggested text, making accidental taps easy.
Why the issue exists
iPhone users can turn off dictation under Settings, General, Keyboard, but there is no option to remove or disable the audio recording button. Because both dictation and audio messages require microphone access, iOS automatically pauses any music or audio playing in the background.
This behaviour has long annoyed users, but Bieber’s comment has brought unusual celebrity spotlight to a minor UI design quirk.
Tech world reacts
Bieber’s post quickly spread across X, drawing reactions from fans, UI designers, and tech personalities. Elon Musk reposted the message with fire emojis. OpenAI’s head of design, Ian Silber, jokingly invited Bieber to their “weekly design crits.”
Others called on him to critique more apps, saying he had entered his “product manager era.” Some users even pointed out Apple’s recent design controversies following the rollout of Liquid Glass across its platforms.
What Apple can do
Apple has not responded to the post, but the company typically evaluates repeated UI complaints in future iOS releases. For now, users must rely on careful tapping or avoid double-pressing the Send button, since iOS offers no way to remove the microphone entirely.
Until Apple changes the interface, Bieber’s annoyance, and the internet’s amusement, is likely to continue.
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