Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has threatened to put Apple employees into a "rear naked choke hold" over a relatively minor iPhone UI issue.

Apple's design choices are frequently questioned by users, especially after introducing big changes like Liquid Glass. However, in the case of one well-known Canadian singer, the littlest UI problems can bring out the biggest reactions.

Posting to X on Sunday, Justin Bieber gave his input on what he perceives is a Messages UI flaw. "If I hit this dictation button after sending a text and it beeps and stops my music one more time," he starts his post.

If it happens again, Bieber threatens "I'm gonna find everyone at Apple and put them in a "rear naked choke hold." He refers to a chokehold where the assailant stands behind their victim and wraps their arm around their neck, cutting off the blood supply to the brain and rendering the opponent unconscious.

"Even if I turn off dictation I somehow hit the voice note thing," he continued, before reasoning, "The send button should not have multiple functions in the same spot."

UI fight

Visions of Justin Bieber choke-holding Tim Cook aside, he does have a point.

His problem is with the dictation microphone icon in the text entry box in Messages. Initially, it appears as a mic, but then it changes to the Send button once some text is entered, before reverting to the mic icon once the message is sent or the box is cleared.

It's in a position where it is fairly easy to tap, just above suggested words in the top right of the keyboard, and above the O and P letters. There's also a good chance of accidentally double-tapping Send and pressing the just-reverted microphone option.

While you can go into Settings, then General, and then Keyboard to disable dictation, it isn't a proper solution. Instead, the icon is replaced by one that records an audio message instead, and you can't disable that function either.

In either case, because the iPhone is recording audio, it turns off music playback, which is Bieber's real issue.

Short of Apple having an option to disable both features on the keyboard, users instead have to be mindful of where their fingers fly while writing a message, or be more mindful of potentially double-tapping the Send button.

Tech humor

Due to Bieber's strong online following, his post quickly gained traction and responses from a variety of observers.

Responses include requests to critique the Photos app user experience, and how Bieber has entered his product management era. Others have also referenced the high-profile retirements at Apple.

Prominent people in tech also took note of Bieber's button complaint. Elon Musk reposted the message with two fire emojis, while OpenAI head of design Ian Silber said "You're officially invited to our weekly design crits."

AppleInsider recommends that text, images, and video are more constructive ways to provide feedback.