Apple admits iPhone 15 Pro overheating issue, is readying a fix

iOS 17.1 en route

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While we didn’t notice anything to complain about in ouriPhone 15 Pro revieworiPhone 15 Pro Max reviewreview, there have been widespread reports that these handsets get unusually hot unusually often – a problem thatApplehas now admitted to.

In a statement shared withMacRumors, Apple says there are “a few conditions” which can cause the handsets to get warmer than they should: increased background activity during the first few days after setup, an unspecified bug in iOS 17 that’s “impacting some users”, and certain third-party apps that are “overloading the system”.

The third-party apps specifically mentioned by Apple are Instagram, Uber, and Asphalt 9: Legends, although there may be others. The good news is that all of this can be fixed with a software update, which is now in the pipeline.

The Pro models of the iPhone 15 have the faster A17 Pro chip inside them, butaccording to Apple, neither this nor the titanium materials used around the handsets are contributing to the overheating. In other words, it’s a software problem rather than a hardware problem we’re dealing with here.

Getting fixed up

Apple says it’s working with third-party app developers to make sure their apps behave themselves, while the iOS bug is going to be patched up in iOS 17.1. That update is now at the beta stage, so we shouldn’t have too much longer to wait for it.

Previous reportsfrom those in the know had suggested that Apple might have to throttle the performance of the A17 Pro in order to limit the instances of overheating, but that won’t be the case, Apple says. The company also says that the overheating doesn’t represent a safety risk, and won’t affect phone performance in the long-term.

It’s difficult to assess just how many people have run into this overheating problem: it certainly isn’t everyone, but it’s clear that some users definitely are seeing it (or rather feeling it when they put their fingers on the back of their iPhone).

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Early iPhone 15 adopters have reporteda couple of other issuesas well. A setup bug affecting those upgrading from another iPhonewas swiftly fixed, while the titanium frames on the Pro and Pro Max models have been getting discolored by fingerprints – something thatApple says is only temporary.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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