Unlike most high-end Android smartphones that use heat-dissipating solutions, iPhones have always lacked proper cooling systems. Apple only started to incorporate graphite pads on the iPhone 14 and continued on the iPhone 15 for improved thermals, but it might add a standalone thermal system on the iPhone 16.
A better graphite-made thermals on Apple iPhone 16
A new rumor on X speculates that Apple is working on a new thermal design that will use of “graphene” for next year’s iPhone 16. The account, which is also happens to be the source of some Apple leaks of sorts, believes this will solve the current overheating woes the company is facing with their iPhone 15 (review) and iPhone 15 Pro (review) and previous models.
It should be noted that the leaker might be referring to graphite heat sink instead of single-layer graphene given Apple is already using graphite sheets on a few internal components on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15. The company’s current solution, however, is not comparable to a dedicated thermal system found on its competitors, like on the Galaxy S23 Ultra (review) with vapor chamber cooling.
The source also added that Apple may expand the adoption of metal coverings on the battery packs of the iPhone 16 for enhanced temperature control. Notably, this is similar to the design they are incorporating that has been first applied on the Apple Watch Series 7.
Apple did acknowledge that the iPhone 15 had overheating issues at launch and addressed it through a software update. However, they only pointed out that this was caused by software bugs that made the handsets produce abnormal heat during operation and not related anything to the hardware design or the new A17 Pro chipset.
While the idea of Apple introducing a proper thermal solution sounds very promising, it always suggested taking this rumor with a pinch of salt until more solid evidence surfaces.
Regardless of whether this is true or not, do you think it is ripe for Apple to start relying on better thermals on iPhones? Shoot us with your answers in the comment section.
