With iPhone 15 Pro models getting hot in users’ hands, new theories as to why are burning up the internet. One of those blames the Instagram app running on iOS 17 — and not just with the latest iPhones.
Could Instagram app on iOS 17 cause iPhone 15 Pro to overheat?
Users started noticing iPhone 15 Pro models overheating soon after the handsets’ release along with iOS 17. TF International Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo said the new A17 Pro chip isn’t to blame, but the iPhone 15 Pro’s titanium case — and Apple’s “compromises” on the handsets’ thermal system — might be. And a software update might fix the problem.
Other sources cited other possibilities, including certain apps that seem to make the phone hot when they run. Instagram, in particular, is getting attention.
Tech influencer Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) posted a short video Wednesday on X (formerly Twitter) describing how frequent iPhone 15 Pro Max usage on a hot day caused no overheating, but sitting on an airplane while playing some music and scrolling through Instagram did.
“For like 5 minutes the phone just gets really hot and blasts through like 5% battery,” he said. “And then it’s fine again afterwards.”
This is very interesting.
In @MKBHD’s latest iPhone 15 Pro review he said he has not experienced any overheating other than when using Instagram and listening to music.
Is this whole iPhone 15 Pro overheating fiasco just because of Instagram? https://t.co/7YO3bO3Hpm pic.twitter.com/F9sNdodFLG— AppleLeaker (@LeakerApple) September 29, 2023
YouTube video proposes a fix
Instagram-related overheating might not be limited to iPhone 15 Pro models. YouTuber iphonedo posted a video Tuesday in which he blames “the awful Instagram app” on his iPhones running iOS 17 for causing overheating and depleting batteries. He noted it with his iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro Max and even his iPad:
Instagram app has been overheating my iPhone 15 Pro Max but also ever since I installed iOS17 it has been overheating my iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, and my iPad Pro 6 like crazy. It also drains the battery almost 1% per 1 minute. So in 10 minutes of almost doing nothing on instagram drains 10% battery while heating the phone like crazy, causing performance problems.
This has been going on with iOS 17 and instagram. This morning Instagram released version till 302.0 and the issue is still going on.
In the video, he warned people “not to rush into updating iOS 17 if you are using Instagram quite often … this is all Instagram and no other app, as far as I know.”
He showed the rapid rise in heat using a digital thermometer. Over several minutes, the temperature rose from 80 degrees to the high 90s.
How to fix it? Iphonedo recommends putting the iPhone in Low Power Mode, which helps somewhat, as well as turning off background effects while using Instagram.
