Modern smartphones offer powerful cameras, AI features, and immense performance – but when it gets hot, they often can’t cope anymore. The problem: thermal throttling.
Why do smartphones have overheating issues? Powerful processors, high-resolution displays with high refresh rates, and increasingly new AI features push the hardware of modern smartphones to its limits. The biggest problem is heat.
Especially in high outdoor temperatures during summer, heat build-up inside a smartphone can lead to severe performance losses. This usually happens through something called thermal throttling – a protective feature where the device reduces performance to avoid damage (via Xataka).
In everyday life, this means:
- Games suddenly no longer run smoothly.
- The camera app freezes or starts up slower.
- The device charges significantly slower or not at all.
- Battery life shrinks massively.
The combination of strong hardware and a thin case without active cooling is particularly susceptible to this.
What technical solutions are there?
Apple is reportedly relying on new cooling for upcoming models: According to recent rumors, Apple is said to be using a so-called vapor chamber cooling for the upcoming Pro models of the iPhone for the first time. This is a cooling technology that efficiently dissipates heat through a chamber filled with liquid (via Appleinsider).
Other companies like Xiaomi have been using this technology for a longer time (via epey).
What about Android? With the update to One UI 7, which is now available on many Samsung smartphones, the manufacturer has integrated a new option that theoretically can disable the so-called thermal throttling. The setting is hidden in the developer options and is supposed to allow the automatic performance throttling at high temperatures to be turned off (via AnalyticsInside).
However, although the idea sounds promising in principle, the practical implementation, according to various subreddits, is somewhat disappointing:
Users Dark_reiging2 writes in another subreddit: “I recently looked for it in the developer settings, but I can’t find it anywhere.”
And user iMoron5G has doubts about the usefulness of such settings: “I would advocate for throttling. Even if the hardware can withstand the additional heat, the battery ages much faster at these temperatures. I think that’s the main reason to extend battery lifespan.” (via Reddit).
What else can be done against overheating? Even without developer options or special tools, there is a lot that can be done to prevent smartphones from overheating. Especially on hot summer days, it helps to pay attention to basic things. For example, the device should not be exposed to direct sunlight – like on a café table or in the car – as the casing can heat up extremely (via Xataka).
Also, resource-intensive apps like games, 4K video recording, or navigation in satellite mode should be avoided or at least reduced as much as possible when the phone is already warm. At least as long as the smartphone is exposed to direct sunlight.
Not only smartphones suffer from extreme heat – the heat can also be dangerous for us humans. Researchers warn of typical mistakes people make at high temperatures and show how to effectively protect themselves: Why you should prefer tea instead of ice-cold water when it’s hot
