We suppose it’s safe to say that no smartphone is perfect – a lot of devices out there will each have their own little quirks, whether it be via isolated cases or through serious manufacturing defects which might sometimes result in a recall. While the latter isn’t probably the case with Apple’s newest iPhone 15 series, it looks like a considerable number of users are having trouble with their devices nonetheless.
More specifically, owners of the iPhone 15 Pro Max (the most expensive in Apple’s 2023 lineup) have reported heating issues with their devices, so much so that we even tried checking out how hot our iPhone 15 Pro Max got. Folks have posted concerns on social media indicating that their iPhone 15 Pro Max units generated some rather-unwelcome heat during usage, which varied from user to user.
If you clicked on the link to the video above, a quick test using a thermal scanner on our iPhone 15 Pro Max shows that the handset reached a high of 39 degrees celsius, which is pretty hot even for most phones. While most smartphones will generate heat from extended usage via gaming, data and GPS use, or maxed-out display brightness, most won’t reach alarmingly-high temperatures.
In order to mitigate issues like these, a lot of manufacturers have resorted to installing cooling systems on their devices. One good example is ASUS’ ROG phone line, which features a “rapid-cycle vapor chamber design,” which the company claims improves heat dissipation efficiency by up to 168%. There’s even an optional attachment that clips on the ROG phone’s rear panel, and acts as an external cooling fan.
In the case of the iPhone 15 Pro Max however, it doesn’t seem like Apple has installed an active cooling system of any sort on the phone, which has resulted in subsequent heating issues. Coupled with the more power-hungry A17 Pro Bionic chip, some users are now wary about using their iPhone for more intensive tasks and apps. Some are even comparing it to the A15 Bionic chip on the iPhone 13 series, which managed to balance performance and heat management during usage.
There are suspicions that the A17 Pro Bionic might have been developed using a similar architecture as last year’s A16 Bionic chip, which essentially meant that the A17’s push for more power has affected the iPhone 15 Pro’s overall thermal management capabilities. Prior to the launch of the 15 Pro, Google’s Pixel 7 series have been noted for its heating issues as well, which many attribute to Google’s Tensor G2 chip.
This overheating has also resulted in users observing throttling on their devices, with temperatures reportedly reaching as high as 48 degrees celsius. Given Apple’s big marketing push for the iPhone 15 Pro to double as a dedicated gaming device (with games such as Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 Remake scheduled for release), this issue certainly warrants concern, and hopefully a fix from Apple is on the way, or in the works at the very least.
Have you experienced heating issues with your new iPhone 15, or has your phone remained cool all throughout? Let us know in the comments below!
