Apple addresses iPhone 15 overheating bug (updated)

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After Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 series a little over two weeks ago, it became the hottest smartphone in the market in more ways than one. 

Customers who ordered the iPhone 15 during the launch week have started receiving their orders. And while they were trying to settle in with their new iPhone 15s, they started facing excessive heating issues, in addition to some units being defective. 

The reports state excessive heating issues with the iPhone 15 series, especially during charging and prolonged use. 

Users are reporting major heating issues with their iPhone 15s

Several users on X, formerly Twitter, have experienced overheating while using their iPhone 15 Pro models. The scenarios include charging, as well as regular unplugged use, including browsing through apps like Instagram.

The more intensive workloads like gaming seem to cause the issue as well, but surprisingly, the issue is not limited to those

Korean YouTuber BullsLab has even pointed a thermal camera at the iPhone 15 Plus and 15 Pro Max and captured the excessive heat generation. 

Kuo stated Apple sacrificed the iPhone 15’s cooling to make it lighter

Surprisingly, Apple hadn’t commented on the issue for a while. Users started speculating that since the issue was more apparent on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, most users held the new A17 Bionic chip responsible for this heating issue. 

But renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that the iPhone 15 heating issue has nothing to do with the new A17 chip. According to Kuo, the lighter weight due to the use of a titanium frame could be a possible reason.

Apple has been promoting the titanium frame in its advertisements. It has possibly reduced the heat dissipation area, which has likely reduced the device’s thermal efficiency. 

Kuo further stated Apple is expected to address the issue through software updates. But software can only do so much. Apple will likely have to lower the performance of the A17 chip to fix the issue entirely. 

Apple says iOS 17 to blame, and a software update will be issued

After waiting for a week, Apple has finally addressed the iPhone 15 thermal issue. According to Apple, the iPhone 15’s heating issues are related to a software bug in the iOS 17. 

The company made a statement to Forbes, pointing out the issue, and promised a fix via software update. 

According to the statement, the overheating issue is tied to the extra work done by the users during the iPhone setup process. 

Apple has stated, “We have identified a few conditions which can cause iPhone to run warmer than expected. The device may feel warmer during the first few days after setting up or restoring the device because of increased background activity.”

However, iPhones running slightly warmer during the setup process is nothing abnormal, but the Pro variants are heating up more than usual. And Apple has attributed the issue to an iOS 17 bug and un-optimized apps.

“We have also found a bug in iOS 17 that is impacting some users and will be addressed in a software update. Another issue involves some recent updates to third-party apps that are causing them to overload the system.”

Apple noted that it was working with the app developers to fix these issues.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s report, a spokesperson has stated apps like Instagram, Uber, and Asphalt 9 are causing the iPhone 15 Pro to overheat.

While we are skeptical about the matter, we hope the issue is software-related only and the fix doesn’t come at the expense of reduced performance. 

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

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