iPhone 15 users have been complaining about their phones overheating since they landed last month and Apple has finally acknowledged the issue.
The smartphone maker told Forbes that the device ‘may feel warmer during the first few days after setting up or restoring the device because of increased background activity’.
Apple clarified that it has also found a bug in iOS 17 impacting some users, which would be addressed in a software update.
According to another report in Bloomberg, an unnamed Apple spokesperson said that apps like Instagram, Uber, and the game Asphalt 9 could be causing the devices to ‘run warmer than normal’.
Instagram owner Meta has reportedly already modified the app to help prevent the issue.
Since the much-anticipated smartphone’s launch, widespread reports of the iPhone 15 overheating have been circulating online.
Some users have reported temperatures as high as 46C, even during undemanding tasks like browsing social media.
Other owners have reported that their phones got too hot to even hold without a case.
Initially, people suspected the new A17 Bionic chip, the first 3-nanometre chip to be used in an iPhone, was possibly running hotter than previous ones.
But Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has dismissed the idea. Instead, he believes that the overheating is more likely due to the ‘compromises made in the thermal system design to achieve a lighter weight’.
In his blog, he explained that the reduced heat dissipation area and the use of a titanium frame, could be negatively impacting the smartphone’s thermal efficiency.
The iPhone 15 is thinner and lighter than previous iPhones and the Pro models feature a new titanium body which could be handling heat differently.
‘It’s expected that Apple will address this through software updates, but improvements may be limited unless Apple lowers processor performance,’ wrote Mr Kuo.
Apple clarified to Forbes that the fix, which should come with iOS 17.1, won’t result in lowered performance as suggested by Mr Kuo.
This is not the first issue related to the new iPhone 15s. Most recently, one of the devices failed a bend test as YouTuber JerryRigEverything broke it with his bare hands.
While the iPhone 15 Pro held up, the iPhone 15 Pro Max – which costs £1,199 – visibly cracked as it was bent.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Apple for comment.
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