Thermal imaging shows before and after

The iPhone 15 overheating issue was confirmed and visualized using thermal imaging, and now the same technology has been used to show the impact of Apple’s software fix.

In our own poll, 57% of 9to5Mac Readers with iPhone 15 models have encountered an overheating issue…

iPhone 15 overheating

We first started seeing widespread reports of this issue shortly after people received their new iPhones. Some users, including Ian Zelbo, found their phones were like this Too hot to hold In the same circumstances.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is almost too hot to touch while fast charging right now. I thought people were exaggerating, but no, it’s not cool.

In our own survey, 57% of readers with iPhone 15 models experienced the issue:

• While charging: 19%
• During use requirement: 11%
• During normal use: 27%

Apple repair

Apple confirmed the issue, but denied reports that it had anything to do with changing the Pro model’s case from stainless steel to titanium. In fact, the company said, it already has the latest models better Heat dissipation compared to previous iPhones.

The iPhone maker told us it was instead a combination of a bug in iOS 17, and issues with apps like Instagram and Uber, which were hitting the phone enough to raise temperatures.

Apple released a fix in iOS 17.0.3.

This update provides important bug fixes, security updates, and addresses an issue that may cause your iPhone to run warmer than expected

Some were concerned that the company may have throttled the performance of the A17 Pro chip in order to achieve this, but the test results showed no sign of that.

Before and after thermal images

Objective data for this problem were provided using a forward-view infrared (FLIR) camera, also known as a thermal imaging camera. Not only did this provide a visual representation of the temperature, but it also showed the specific temperatures measured, which were significantly higher than those measured by competing phones.

Znet Use the same kit to measure temperature readings before and after installing iOS 17.0.3. This confirms that the update has already resolved the issue.

before:

I used a thermal camera to measure the temperature and found that the temperature of the iPhone 15 Pro Max reached 107.1 degrees Fahrenheit. This was much hotter than other iPhones and Android phones, which typically max out at 85 to 95 degrees on fast charging in my tests. The Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 was the hottest of any phone when tested under the same conditions, reaching 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

after:

I downloaded the iOS 17.0.3 update and allowed the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max test units to drain their power and then plugged them in for fast charging using the same parameters and the same equipment in the same location as my previous tests. This time they never felt warm to the touch, nor did they exceed 93.8 degrees Fahrenheit. They stayed between the high 80s and low 90s — a huge improvement from before iOS 17.0.3 when the temperature of both iPhone 15 Pro models was consistently above 100 degrees Fahrenheit when fast charging using a 35W charger.

You can see the visual results in the images above.