iPhone 15 Pro overheating problems are caused by design flaws, says Apple insiders

It's been almost two weeks since the release of the iPhone 15 Pro, and with many of the new devices now making their way out into the public, there seems to be a portion of users reporting overheating problems.

One example is sourced from a Chinese video platform that showed an iPhone 15 Pro Max downloading a game called Genshin Impact on a 5G network, and during the download, the phone reached 122ºF. Additionally, the phone remained at a similar temperature when it was running the game in its high-resolution mode. Another example can be found on TheRelaxingEnd YouTube channel, where an iPhone 15 Pro can be seen freezing and dropping its framerate.

These examples, combined with plenty of others posted on various social media platforms, suggest there is at least a small group of iPhone 15 Pro users suffering from overheating problems. So, why is this happening?

According to an article from The Wall Street Journal, who spoke to "people familiar with the iPhone's design," these overheating problems are caused by design flaws within the iPhone 15 Pro, pointing to the SIM tray version of the iPhone 15 Pro that was released everywhere else besides the US. Notably, eSIM-only iPhones remain exclusive to the US, which uses a different logic board compared to SIM tray iPhones that are released everywhere else.

The WSJ sources also pointed to the adoption of titanium as a factor in the overheating reports. The insiders said that since the chassis of the iPhone is thinner due to the titanium, there is "less mass to absorb the heat" compared to stainless steel.

At the time of writing, Apple hasn't issued an official comment on the overheating complaints.