diff --git a/core/src/utils/focus-visible.ts b/core/src/utils/focus-visible.ts
index f1411e6996..91284109c6 100644
--- a/core/src/utils/focus-visible.ts
+++ b/core/src/utils/focus-visible.ts
@@ -22,51 +22,49 @@ export interface FocusVisibleUtility {
 
 export const startFocusVisible = (rootEl?: HTMLElement): FocusVisibleUtility => {
   let currentFocus: Element[] = [];
-  let keyboardMode = false;
-  let lastPointerType: string | null = null;
+  // Tracks if the last interaction was a pointer event (mouse, touch, pen)
+  // Used to distinguish between pointer and keyboard navigation for focus styling
+  let hadPointerEvent = false;
 
   const ref = rootEl ? rootEl.shadowRoot! : document;
   const root = rootEl ? rootEl : document.body;
 
+  // Adds or removes the focused class for styling
   const setFocus = (elements: Element[]) => {
     currentFocus.forEach((el) => el.classList.remove(ION_FOCUSED));
     elements.forEach((el) => el.classList.add(ION_FOCUSED));
     currentFocus = elements;
   };
 
+  // Do not set focus on pointer interactions
   const pointerDown = (ev: Event) => {
-    const pointerEvent = ev as PointerEvent;
-    lastPointerType = pointerEvent.pointerType;
-    keyboardMode = false;
-    setFocus([]);
+    if (ev instanceof PointerEvent && ev.pointerType !== '') {
+      hadPointerEvent = true;
+      // Reset after the event loop so only the immediate focusin is suppressed
+      setTimeout(() => { hadPointerEvent = false; }, 0);
+    }
   };
 
+  // Clear hadPointerEvent so keyboard navigation shows focus
+  // Also, clear focus if the key is not a navigation key
   const onKeydown = (ev: Event) => {
-    const keyboardEvent = ev as KeyboardEvent;
-    // Always set keyboard mode to true when any key is pressed
-    // This handles the WebKit Tab key bug where keydown might not fire
-    keyboardMode = true;
+    hadPointerEvent = false;
 
-    // If it's not a focus key, clear focus immediately
+    const keyboardEvent = ev as KeyboardEvent;
     if (!FOCUS_KEYS.includes(keyboardEvent.key)) {
       setFocus([]);
     }
   };
 
+  // Set focus if the last interaction was NOT a pointer event
+  // This works around iOS/Safari bugs where keydown is not fired for Tab
   const onFocusin = (ev: Event) => {
-    // Check if this focus event is likely from keyboard navigation
-    // We can detect this by checking if there was a recent keydown event
-    // or if the focus target is a focusable element that typically gets focus via keyboard
     const target = ev.target as HTMLElement;
-
-    if (target.classList.contains(ION_FOCUSABLE)) {
-      // If we're in keyboard mode or this looks like keyboard navigation
-      if (keyboardMode || !lastPointerType) {
-        const toFocus = ev.composedPath().filter((el): el is HTMLElement => {
-          return el instanceof HTMLElement && el.classList.contains(ION_FOCUSABLE);
-        });
-        setFocus(toFocus);
-      }
+    if (target.classList.contains(ION_FOCUSABLE) && !hadPointerEvent) {
+      const toFocus = ev.composedPath().filter((el): el is HTMLElement =>
+        el instanceof HTMLElement && el.classList.contains(ION_FOCUSABLE)
+      );
+      setFocus(toFocus);
     }
   };
 
@@ -80,16 +78,12 @@ export const startFocusVisible = (rootEl?: HTMLElement): FocusVisibleUtility =>
   ref.addEventListener('focusin', onFocusin);
   ref.addEventListener('focusout', onFocusout);
   ref.addEventListener('pointerdown', pointerDown, { passive: true });
-  ref.addEventListener('touchstart', pointerDown, { passive: true });
-  ref.addEventListener('mousedown', pointerDown);
 
   const destroy = () => {
     ref.removeEventListener('keydown', onKeydown);
     ref.removeEventListener('focusin', onFocusin);
     ref.removeEventListener('focusout', onFocusout);
     ref.removeEventListener('pointerdown', pointerDown);
-    ref.removeEventListener('touchstart', pointerDown);
-    ref.removeEventListener('mousedown', pointerDown);
   };
 
   return {