Earlier this week, reports emerged surrounding Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max suffering from potential overheating issues.
Fast-forward a few days, and rather uncharacteristically, the tech giant has “exclusively” acknowledged the issue during an interview with Forbes’ David Phelan:
“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.”
In the report, Apple goes on to say that it has uncovered a specific bug in iOS 17 causing the thermal problems.
“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. We’re working with these app developers on fixes that are in the process of rolling out.”
If Apple’s claims are accurate, this means the overheating issues are twofold. First, they’re caused by increased background activity when setting up an iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max for the first time, and also by specific resource-intensive apps.
In Forbes’ report, Apple mentions Instagram, Uber and Asphalt 9 as apps and games that can cause the iPhone 15 Pro to become hot. It says it’s actively working with third-party developers to address the issue and that Instagram already released an update on September 27th.
Apple says the problem is not caused by the iPhone 15 Pro’s lighter titanium frame, refuting an earlier claim from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. On the plus side, the tech giant says it has no plans to reduce the A17 Pro’s performance through a software fix and that the issue is not a safety risk.
Forbes says the incoming fix for this problem isn’t included in the current iOS 17.1 beta that will likely release in late October. It’s possible Apple could drop a specific update related to this issue. Given the company’s track record for quickly fixing serious problems with its devices, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an update appear very soon.
I still haven’t encountered overheating with the iPhone 15 Pro I’ve used for the last few weeks. In a few instances, it’s become warm when I play Resident Evil Village (a resource-intensive game), but it’s been fine when fast-charging and in normal use (at least so far).
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