Over the past few days, many people have reported that their new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have been heating up whenever they use them for video-intensive tasks. This includes gaming, using it for FaceTime, or shooting videos.
However, how the heating issues are reported needs to be more accurate; while it is an issue for many people, if news reports are anything to go by, anyone who buys a new iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max will buy a lemon. However, the issue is more complex.
This seriously brings into question: is the heating issue really that widespread and affecting all iPhone 15 Pro models, or is it an issue with some of the batches of the new iPhones? What should people do if they have already bought the latest devices?
How big is this issue?
Some of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max that are being used are heating up. However, not all of them are having this issue. If online testimonials on X are anything to go by, one would notice that there are as many users saying they did not face any unexpected heating issues as those who have met them.
If anything to go by, one would notice that there are as many users saying that they did not face any unexpected heating issues as there are those who have met them.
This means roughly 50% of new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max users face this issue.
Moreover, most people who had earlier complained of iPhones heating up have stated that their devices are no longer heating up as they did initially.
Why are some of the iPhones heating up?
There are several reasons why the new iPhones may be heating up.
Yields of TSMC’s new 3nm Node
First, there is the fact that the new A17 Pro SoCs are built using a new 3nm process by TSMC. As you go finer with the nodes to make a silicon chip, the yield from a single silicon wafer that would be perfect also drops.
This is called a silicon lottery. Almost all electronic products with a silicon chip function on this principle. Do note that the discrepancies are often very minor.
Blazing fast performance
Then, there is the fact that the new A17 Pro SoCs are beasts unto themselves regarding performance.
The new A17 Pro SoCs are almost as powerful as the M2 SoC that we see in the MacBook Air-15 inch if scores from Geekbench 6 are anything to go by.
And when you consider offerings from AMD and Intel, Apple’s A17 Pro scores in Geekbench 6’s single-core test within 10 percent of AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel’s Core i9-13900K processors. The A17 Pro scored 2,914 points in single-core testing, the Core i9-13900K scored 3,223, and the Ryzen 9 7950X scored 3,172.
Over on the Android side of things, Apple’s A17 Pro SoC handily beats the Samsung S23 Ultra’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC by a mile.
Routine things that heat all devices
Next up, there is the issue of optimizations and set-up. Your device will heat up whenever you set up a new device or restore it from a backup. Using graphic-intensive or processor-intensive apps, games, or features, especially augmented-reality apps, and streaming high-quality video for a long also heats a device. All of this is normal and affects all devices.
App optimisations
App developers also have a role to play in this. Most app developers need to optimize their code for any new SoC, which will take some time. Once the apps have been updated, many heating issues should be resolved.
In the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max case, online journalists seem to have identified that Instagram and certain other apps haven’t been appropriately optimized for the new SoC (at the time of writing this article) and are causing issues. There is also a possibility that Apple needs to tweak the A17 Pro SoC to be able to handle high-resolution videos in a better manner.
What Apple needs to do
For starters, Apple needs to rethink its strategy when it comes to cooling. Apple has been testing a vapor chamber for cooling their smartphones for some time. Given the power of the A17 Pro SoC, this would have been the perfect time to incorporate a vapor cooling chamber.
Apple also needs to work with app developers closely, creating an environment that ensures that whenever a significant product, a new iPhone, is launched along with a new version of iOS, the most downloaded and used apps from their App Store are ready with an updated version for the market.
Could you tell me what users can do to fix the heating issue?
If you are setting up a new device, you need not worry, as heating up is common. Your new device should settle into a groove in a couple of days. The same goes for charging as well. Your device will learn your charging patterns and set itself up accordingly.
Next up, update all the apps on your new iPhone 15. You may think a device is already up to date when you unbox it for the first time, but you will be surprised how often they are not. Also, update your smartphone’s OS, in this case iOS, whenever Apple releases an update.
And finally, charge your iPhones with compatible cables and charging bricks. The USB-C cable that comes with the new iPhones uses USB 2 speeds. iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds up to 10Gbit per second when using a cable optimized for USB 3.2.
