Apple Shows How the iPhone 17 Pro Keeps Its Cool
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Unlike many desktops and laptops, an iPhone has no internal fan to help keep it cool. When iPhones get hot, they use thermal throttling instead, which reduces performance to help prevent damage to the chip and battery.
Thermal throttling managed by iOS will reduce the chip’s performance and peak power output, resulting in a noticeable decrease in speed to protect the iPhone’s hardware. The impact may be felt in touch responsiveness, slower app and media loading, and reduced background tasks until the iPhone cools.
An iPhone can get hot for a variety of reasons, including ambient temperature, prolonged gaming sessions, fast or wireless charging, or long streaming or navigation sessions. If performance throttling can’t manage the heat, your iPhone will let you know with a temperature warning that says, “iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it.”
As Apple continues to pack more powerful chips into the iPhone, it needs to make software and hardware advancements to reduce overheating and sustain performance.
The iPhone 17 Pro is the first iPhone to use vapor chamber cooling. It’s not a new technology, but of course, Apple developed a custom version. Since it’s not the easiest concept to understand, Apple has released a new video to its YouTube channel highlighting the iPhone 17 Pro’s unique cooling capabilities.
The video, titled Peak Performance, begins with a water droplet falling onto a runner’s head, then sizzling and vaporizing. The runner continues sprinting while playing the piano and solving a Rubik’s Cube simultaneously. For good measure, he blasts through some concrete walls, too.
The Apple A19 Pro Chip is vapor cooled. Because when you run cool, you can push your limits. And juggle over 35 trillion complex tasks a second. Just imagine if we were that powerful.
The video concludes with the statement, “Vapor cooled for serious performance.”
While Apple continues to release new, more powerful iPhone chips, expect similar advancements in cooling. Whether or not you have an iPhone 17 Pro with vapor chamber cooling, you can still take steps to maintain your iPhone’s peak performance by managing heat. Consider removing your iPhone’s case during heavy use, avoiding direct sunlight, and actively managing your screen’s brightness. You may also want to limit gaming or streaming while charging. There are also many MagSafe cooling accessories available that can help you out if you’re regularly pushing your iPhone’s performance to the limits.
