Apple says iPhone 15 overheating issues are due to iOS 17 bugs and third-party apps
The iPhone 15 has been available in stores for over a week, but there has been a rising concern among users about overheating problems on the new devices. Apple has acknowledged the issue, and says it will address them in a future update.
Apple confirms overheating issues on iPhone 15 models
In a statement sent to Forbes, Apple says that it has identified a few conditions that may cause the iPhone to run warmer than usual. The company says it is normal for the device to feel warmer for the first few days after you have set it up, or restored it. In other words, the background activity being processed is one of the reasons why your iPhone 15 may feel hot to the touch.
This sounds similar to the "your phone must be indexing" comment that is regularly posted among iPhone users. It has pretty much become a meme these days, because no device keeps indexing for several days.
Jokes aside, Apple has acknowledged another problem that could cause the temperature levels to shoot up. The Cupertino company says it has found a bug in iOS 17 that is affecting some suers. Apple says it will address the overheating issues in iPhone 15 models in the iOS 17.1 update. In case you missed it, Apple released iOS 17.1 beta a few days ago.
On a side note, the company also identified three apps that were found to be causing the iPhone 15 to run warmer. The apps in question include Instagram, Uber and Asphalt 9. Instagram was updated on September 27 to version 302, with a fix for the problem.
Other factors that could attribute to the problem include high capacity fast chargers, i.e. above 20W, that can cause the device's temperature to rise temporarily. Apple highlighted that iPhones and iPads are designed to protect against overheating, so the devices will not be impacted in the long-term.
Apple says iPhone 15 overheating issues are not related to Titanium
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are powered by an A16 Bionic chipset. As you may know, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are equipped with a different processor, the A17 Pro chip. The chipset is more powerful, and offers an enhanced gaming experience with console like graphics, including Ray Tracing in some titles. Another notable element that sets the iPhone 15 Pro series apart is the Titanium frame on the devices.
Apple has dismissed rumors that the overheating issues are related to the new frame. As a matter of fact, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are also affected by these thermal problems, but neither of those have the Titanium Frame, they have the Stainless Steel design. The company has also confirmed that the iOS 17.1 update will not throttle the performance of the devices to address the heating issues.
Some users on reddit say that their older iPhones are also impacted by the issue, however it is unclear if this is a widespread problem. I did notice a similar issue on my iPhone 13, but it only happened when I used the new Vivaldi browser for iOS. In case you missed it, iOS 17 enables some sensitive location settings, you may want to disable them.
