New cooling in the iPhone 17: Full steam ahead?

At least one device in the upcoming iPhone 17 series is expected to feature liquid cooling for the first time. The iPhone 17 is expected to be unveiled in September. The Chinese leaker Instant Digital is now the third rumor source to predict the installation of a so-called vapor chamber. The technology should help Apple to use even more powerful processors in the iPhone without the device overheating or limiting its performance.

Passive cooling so far

Apple currently relies on passive cooling using metal and graphite heat sinks to dissipate the heat from the processor. Under heavy use, this leads to the device becoming noticeably warm and even throttling its performance above a certain intensity to cool down again and prevent heat damage.

A vapor chamber, as already used by some Android device manufacturers, works with a cooling liquid inside. This evaporates when exposed to heat and is distributed inside the chamber. Once it reaches the outer walls, the vapor condenses and lowers the temperature.

More and more signs

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from Taiwan was the first to hold out the prospect of a vapor chamber in the summer of 2023. At the time, he was talking about the iPhone 17 Pro Max, while all other models in the 17 series would continue to rely on graphite foils. The Chinese website MyDrivers, on the other hand, reported in early 2024 that all iPhone 17 models would be equipped with corresponding heat sinks. The Leaker Instant Digital claims that only the Pro models, the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, will switch to vapor.

It is said that liquid cooling would allow Apple to operate the devices under more load than before. Computing-intensive tasks include gaming and augmented reality apps, for example. The protection against overheating would also help to improve the service life of the device. Apple has also had problems with overheating in the past, for example with the iPhone 15 Pro.

(mki)