Imminent iOS 17.03 update will probably address overheating iPhones

Good news for iPhone 15 Pro owners: an iOS software update is on the way, and it will probably include a fix for the widely reported overheating problem.

MacRumors says it can confirm that iOS 17.0.3 is currently being internally tested. Unfortunately we can’t extrapolate a specific release date from that–the testing process isn’t quite that simple–but MacRumors thinks iOS 17.0.3 will be rolled out “either later this week or next week.” In other words, check the General > Software Update section of the Settings app regularly between now and October 15, or turn on automatic updates.

Nor, we should emphasize, can we be completely certain that iOS 17.0.3 is the update that will fix, or attempt to fix, the hot new iPhones. It’s just highly likely, given the timing and Apple’s previous statement that it would address the cause, which it claimed was a software bug in iOS 17, in a future update.

The issue has marred the launch of Apple’s late-2023 iPhones. Numerous customers and reviewers have reported that their Pro models have been overheating to the point of being uncomfortable to hold, and while a certain amount of warmth is to be expected with new phones, as a result of the demanding processes which take place during setup, this goes well beyond that. Apple has denied that “design compromises” are anything to do with it (while the respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has rushed to deny that it’s related to TSMC’s 3nm chip manufacturing), but has implied that it may have multiple causes: a bug in iOS 17, yes, but also issues with specific third-party apps, including Instagram and Uber. Both of those apps have released updates, although it’s not yet known if these solve or even have any effect on the problem.

MacRumors adds that the fix expected to be included in iOS 17.0.3 will also be included in iOS 17.1, which should come out some time in late October.

iOS, iPhone