Popular app may be overheating iPhone 15s

We might have the answer to what's causing "Thermalgate."

Author

Leander Kahney
September 29, 2023

Almost every year, new iPhones are greeted with some new “-gate” controversy: Antennagate, Bendgate, Scratchgate, Yellowgate, Slowgate and Crackgate, to name a few.

This year’s fuss might be called “Thermalgate”: The new iPhone 15 Pros are reportedly overheating on some people. You’ve no doubt seen the socials and YouTube lit up with claims of roasting-hot iPhone 15s.

It’s hard to tell if it’s a widespread problem. Most of the complaints seem to come from a small cadre of influencers, rather than widespread reports from regular users.

Now there’s a new wrinkle. A popular app keeps cropping up as a possible source of the problem. And one YouTuber claims the app overheats not just the new iPhones, but all the devices the app runs on, including his iPad and older iPhones. Could this app be the culprit?

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Tweetz o’ the day

One more thing ...

❝

[Teacher Imogene Hill] became one of the saints in my life. After school one day, she gave me this workbook with math problems in it, and she said, ‘I want you to take it home and do this.’ And I thought, ‘Are you nuts?’ And then she pulled out one of these lollipops that seemed as big as the world. And she said, ‘When you’re done with it, if you get it mostly right, I will give you this and five dollars.’ And I handed it back within two days. I just wanted to learn and to please her.

— Steve Jobs, 2011.

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Does using Instagram heat up your iPhone or iPad?

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