back to article iPhone 15 is too hot to handle – and not in any good way

Apple's iPhone 15 is so hot right now, just not in the way that Apple would prefer. After only a week on sale, forums and message boards are full of claims that iPhone 15 models are too hot to hold or are at least warmer than the range of air temperatures – 0° to 35°C (32° to 95°F) – that Apple recommends for iPhone usage. …

  1. JimboSmith

    The Register asked Apple to comment and we've not had a response.

    I won’t be holding my breath waiting for them to respond for obvious reasons.

    Apple could, if it chose, extinguish this firestorm by dismissing claims about its latest iPhone as anecdotal and statistically insignificant.

    They could say the new iPocketwarmer feature has been discovered before being announced and will feel fine to users once the temperature drops a bit.

    1. excperr

      Have apple ever responded to el reg?

      1. Persona Silver badge

        Yes, but we don't know if the person who did still had a job by the end of the day

        https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/14/apple_iphone_12_woes_spread/

    2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
      Holmes

      re: The Register asked Apple

      Any response from El-Fruity can and will be used in the gazillion class action lawsuits already being filed and joined by people who don't even have an offending device (yet).

      That is life today.

      Those who can't sue everyone in sight (D. Trump)

      1. ChoHag Silver badge
        Pint

        Re: re: The Register asked Apple

        > That is life today.

        > Those who can't sue everyone in sight (D. Trump)

        I was lamenting this very fact¹ in the before times when I was a young man discovering the world for the first time.

        Some decades later I wonder how new a phenomenon it really is.

        [1] Well not quite, Trump was nothing more than a bit-player in Home Alone; my peers had to misunderstand the Thatcher & Reagen legacy and rant about that instead.

    3. EricB123 Silver badge

      Hey, it almost worked forv BMW

      "They could say the new iPocketwarmer feature has been discovered before being announced"

      Will that feature require an $80 a month subscription as well?

  2. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
    Flame

    Coming soon ...

    Apple iGloves, an essential accessory for all discerning iPhone owners!

    1. DJV Silver badge

      Re: Apple iGloves

      They will work brilliantly but, 12 months later, will be found to be made of asbestos.

  3. mattaw2001
    Joke

    From "you are holding it wrong!" to "you are holding it."

    From "you are holding it wrong!" to "you are holding it." in 11 generations. When they said it was hands-free I didn't realize that was a safety announcement.

    1. vtcodger Silver badge

      Re: From "you are holding it wrong!" to "you are holding it."

      From "you are holding it wrong!" to "you are holding it." in 11 generations.

      The next step is When it is running, you can't hold it and you'd best not try? (But for a paltry $125, you can buy Apple's patented, high-tech insulated glove which will allow full access to all phone controls. And for another $67 you can have a head shield that will allow you to hold the phone near your ear without threat of permanent injury -- assuming that you hold the phone right).

  4. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "It’s expected that Apple will address this through software updates"

    AKA : throttling the CPU permanently to keep the phone from getting too hot.

    So people will start complaining that their new shiny is a slug.

    Too bad Apple chose titanium, apparently.

    1. dharmOS

      Re: "It’s expected that Apple will address this through software updates"

      Would a standard Aluminum alloy case (as Apple have used to date) meant that this would have had better thermal dissipation? Then truly a dumb decision to make something sound "flash" that is inferior to what came before.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The iPhone 15 toaster oven attachment coming any day soon!

    Only $1500!

    1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: The iPhone 15 toaster oven attachment coming any day soon!

      iGriddle

      Handy for when you are feeling peckish and fancy a toasted egg and bacon sandwich.

      Flame-grilling is an extra option

    2. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
      Flame

      Re: The iPhone 15 toaster oven attachment coming any day soon!

      It will be so toasty that it will start asking

      "Does anyone want some toast?" 246 times a day............

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The iPhone 15 toaster oven attachment coming any day soon!

      But you will need to buy special Apple designed bread…

  6. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

    JerryRigEverything performs a teardown and you can see that there doesn't appear to be much for motherboard cooling, if anything. The motherboard is going to run hot, and running hot makes high density chips run hotter.

  7. Mrs Spartacus

    Breaking news..

    Stand by for the first reports of this latest I-crotch-warmer spontaneously exploding in a trouser pocket and blowing off a bollock or two...

    1. David 132 Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Breaking news..

      …and in statistically rare instances, three…

  8. s. pam
    Joke

    I love cooked Apples

    usually with a bit of brown sugar and cinammon on top...

  9. Steve Graham
    Big Brother

    Shirley if it's getting hot in your pocket, it's doing some heavy processing at a time you'd expect it to be idle? Paranoia ensues.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Maybe it is scanning all your photos for CSAM ?

  10. Winkypop Silver badge
    Flame

    In other news

    Texas and Florida sue as the increased pocket temperature is deemed an unlawful male contraceptive device.

  11. RegKees

    This has been the case for every new iPhone as it is syncing all the stuff that was on your old phone from the cloud. Mine has already returned to normal temps, I'd be surprised if we're still hearing about this next week.

    1. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

      Syncing must be using Apple installer technology where a minor security update keeps the CPU full-throttle for an hour.

  12. martinusher Silver badge

    Not a new problem

    A processor running hot is just a way of Nature telling you that your software isn't observing the rules of good power saving. Devices like phones rely on lots of idle time relative to short bursts of intense processing. If some application doesn't play by the rules for some reason and the OS fails to detect what its doing then it will make the phone warm, shorten battery life and other bad stuff.

    1. druck Silver badge
      Flame

      Re: Not a new problem

      I had this problem when testing video conferencing software, the phones were on stands on the desk during the call which lasted almost an hour, but did I get a nasty surprise trying to pick one up after, luckily I didn't drop it from too high.

  13. bpfh
    Flame

    Don't worry

    After 6 to 12 months the battery health settings will throttle the cpu, bringing temperatures back to normal levels.

    1. Basmman63

      Re: Don't worry

      Yes, with the phone only allowed to run at 25% of its capability.

  14. abend0c4 Silver badge

    Perhaps they need to swap their fanbois for punkhawallahs.

  15. BartyFartsLast Silver badge

    Just in time for winter.

    Will it be cheaper to charge an iPhone and stay warm than to heat a house?

  16. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    Update coming to iOS 17

    Apple says software bug and certain apps causing iPhone overheating

    Company says it will update iOS 17 to fix bug and is working with developers of apps that overload handsets

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/01/apple-says-software-bug-and-certain-apps-causing-iphone-15-overheating

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