As is often the case with Apple, when it comes to correcting a major problem, responsiveness is there. A few days after the wave of observations of excessive heating of the new iPhone 15s, the firm is deploying an update to iOS 17 to bring the temperature down.
We ourselves noticed it during our test of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and even during our test of the iPhone 15 Plus: Apple’s new smartphones seem to suffer from a fairly significant heating phenomenon. For our part, we measured a peak at 44°C on the back of the device when it was heavily used even though the ambient temperature of the room did not exceed 22°C. An overheating which did not suggest anything reassuring as to the proper functioning of the iPhone in periods of extreme heat as now occurs more and more often each year. Questioned on the subject, the firm spoke to the American site Forbes at the end of last week. One of its representatives then indicated: “ We also found a bug in iOS 17 that affects some users and will be fixed in a software update “. Something promised as due since, on October 4, only a few days later, Apple offered an update of iOS to version 17.0.3 supposed to correct the phenomenon.
iPhone overheating: iOS 17.0.3 fixes the problem
The system update targets the entire iPhone range: the 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. As usual, Apple remains relatively tight-lipped about the content of this update. We only learn that it brings important fixes, security-related improvements and “fixes an issue that could cause the iPhone to overheat unexpectedly”. To apply it, nothing could be simpler. Go to the device settings then in the General and Software Update menu. Just press Update to install it.
We obviously carried out the proposed update and carried out our tests again. And it seems that the iOS 17.0.3 patch is quite effective. Under the same conditions, the temperature on the back of our iPhone 15 Pro Max dropped by around ten degrees compared to the previous test. This should reassure owners of Apple’s new smartphone!
However, if the Apple representative’s claims on the Forbes website are to be believed, iOS 17 is not the only culprit in the device overheating: ” Another problem is some recent third-party app updates that cause system overhead. We are working with these application developers on fixes currently being deployed “. In Apple’s crosshairs, there were among others Instagram (Meta), Uber or even the game Asphalt 9 which would not be properly optimized. All that remains is to wait for the developers to also offer updates to their apps. We can already see that Meta is offering an update for Instagram. We’ll see if it helps bring the temperature down a little further.
Finally, Apple specifies that, contrary to what we have read on the Web regarding the poor support of USB-C for charging the iPhone, any USB-C charger and cable can do the job as long as the specifications are respected. The iPhone is limited to 27 W charging and knows how to regulate it. According to Apple, using a lower capacity charger (20 W) results in high, but normal, heating.