Apple’s newly launched iPhone 15 line is receiving high praise and excitement from fans. However, some early adopters are reporting a major issue with the premium iPhone 15 Pro models overheating during use.
Complaints about the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max variants getting uncomfortably hot have been popping up on social media and Apple’s own support forums over the past week since the launch. Users state that the aluminum chassis itself heats up significantly, even through phone cases, making the device too hot to hold during calls or for extended use.
On Apple’s support forum, one thread about the overheating issue received over 2,200 responses from others encountering the same problem. Comments range from devices getting warm while charging to becoming nearly too hot to touch during mobile gaming or shooting 4K video.
“My iPhone 15 Pro Max is almost too hot to touch while fast charging right now,” wrote Ian Zelbo, a reporter at Apple news site 9to5Mac, in a post on Twitter.
Bloomberg reported that Apple’s own customer support teams have been fielding numerous calls about the overheating complaints. With the iPhone 15 launch only a week old, the volume of reports points to a potential design flaw impacting a significant portion of iPhone 15 Pro users rather than just isolated incidents.
Tech Reviewers Confirm Overheating in Testing
The overheating issues have been corroborated by technology reviewers who have conducted temperature tests on the new devices.
The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern tested an iPhone 15 Pro Max, finding it reached temperatures as high as 112 degrees Fahrenheit during a simulated heavy usage stress test. However, Stern noted even an iPhone 14 Pro Max reached similar hot temperatures under the same test conditions. During more normal usage, both devices maintained lower temperatures.
Other YouTubers found more drastic results when thermally stress testing the iPhone 15 Pro models. Popular tech channel Bulls Lab recorded temperatures exceeding 116 degrees Fahrenheit at a hotspot on the iPhone 15 Pro’s back aluminum chassis.
In a test simulating processor-intensive gaming, iAuthority also registered external temperatures topping 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The iPhone 15 Pro reached notably higher peak temperatures compared to gaming stress tests iAuthority ran on Android rivals including the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Asus Zenfone 9.
While everyday usage may not push iPhones to such extreme temperatures, thermal design is an important consideration for devices under heavy loads. The benchmark testing indicates a potential engineering flaw in the iPhone 15 Pro line that allows more heat to transfer into the external chassis compared to predecessors and competitors.
Tech Analysts Cite Possible Design Missteps
Industry analysts have offered some explanations for why the iPhone 15 Pro models seem prone to overheating where previous generations were not.
Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posted analysis suggesting the overheating stems from changes made to the iPhone 15 Pro’s thermal management system and materials. In order to trim down weight on the Pro models, Apple may have used lower-density materials like titanium in the chassis and reduced the internal vapor chamber size for heat dissipation.
“The primary cause is more likely the compromises made in the thermal system design to achieve a lighter weight, such as the reduced heat dissipation area and the use of a titanium frame, which negatively impacts thermal efficiency,” Kuo wrote.
Other smartphone makers have run into issues when tweaking heat dissipation structures in the quest to make devices as thin and light as possible. In some cases, overheating during fast charging has forced recalls, like the time Google pulled its Pixel 6 line last summer.
While Apple has not indicated any plans for a recall, the company did seem to acknowledge complaints by directing users to a support article about handling iPhones that get too hot. The support page explains typical heat sources like gaming and suggests ways to cool down phones by removing or turning off apps.Interestingly, the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus variants do not seem to be exhibiting the same overheating problems as their Pro siblings.
No Overheating Problems Reported for iPhone 15, 15 Plus
Durability tester Zach at the popular JerryRigEverything YouTube channel put the regular iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models through an intense bend test. Unlike the iPhone 15 Pro Max which cracked under pressure during testing last week, both the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus survived the bend test without damage.
The standard iPhone 15 models still use an aluminum chassis rather than the titanium frame of the Pro iPhones. The less premium builds could be more thermally resistant and better at dissipating heat generated by the A15 Bionic chipset the non-Pro iPhones share with last year’s models.
With the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus unaffected, Apple may be able to address the Pro models’ overheating issues through software updates adjusting power management and thermal throttling. However, if the problems do stem from physical design changes like the titanium chassis, a complete hardware fix may need to wait until future iPhone generations.
For now, the overheating problems seem limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which start at $999 and $1,099 respectively. While Apple has touted the Pro models’ extended battery life, camera improvements, and Always-On display, early adopters may be disappointed by the phones becoming too hot to handle under intense usage.
Meanwhile, the standard iPhone 15 models offer upgrades like car crash detection and satellite connectivity for emergencies, but with the same A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 14 line. The $799 iPhone 15 and $899 iPhone 15 Plus appear to be faring better for users wanting less heat and more value.
Stay tuned for more updates about iPhone 15 and other devices.
