Toni Hobrecht
In the last few days, several reports have surfaced online that the Apple iPhone 15 Pro is suffering from overheating problems. Since its market launch last Friday, customers have repeatedly complained about the Pro models running hot. Now analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has published a note on the subject. In it he comes to the conclusion that the A17 Pro chipset is not responsible for the overheating.
Instead, compromises that Apple made in the design of the thermal system are said to be to blame. The A17 Pro is based on TSMC’s advanced new 3nm manufacturing process. Although this node runs very efficiently, it still apparently spreads more heat than the iPhone 15 Pro can dissipate. This is due to Apple’s efforts to make the new iPhone Pro models lighter. Apple reportedly had to reduce the heat dissipation area. Together with the higher thermal conductivity of titanium, this now apparently leads to poorer thermal management for the new chipset.
Apple will likely address the throttling issues with a software update, which can manage the problem but not fix it. The only way to protect a smartphone from overheating through a software update is to limit the performance and therefore the power consumption. This means that less heat is generated, but the chipset does not run with the performance that is actually possible.
Kuo’s theory does not fully explain why only a part of Apple iPhone 15 Pro models are affected. In forums where the problem is discussed, there are as many affected users as there are people who cannot reproduce the issue. One explanation might be, that Apple may use different suppliers for materials such as cooling pads.
