iPhone 17 Pro Apple cases and thermals

[FlyingTexan]

Apple went from titanium to aluminum stating it enhances thermal performance but then with aluminum being softer it's going to have me running the silicon case to start with. Do they mention anywhere performance with an official case on it? Seems like the vapor chamber would be nullified by the case.

 

[arc of the universe]

Apple went from titanium to aluminum stating it enhances thermal performance but then with aluminum being softer it's going to have me running the silicon case to start with. Do they mention anywhere performance with an official case on it? Seems like the vapor chamber would be nullified by the case.

its an interesting question.
i have never seen case-on / case-off data for any mobile device.

i would surmise, however, that once heat has been conducted to the outer surface of the phone itself, the small gap between the phone's outer surface and the surrounding case's surface has absolutely no adverse effect on the phone's thermal throttling.
that small gap between the case and the phone is actually a huge amount of space in the context of allowing heat to dissipate.

 

[FlyingTexan]

its an interesting question.
i have never seen case-on / case-off data for any mobile device.

i would surmise, however, that once heat has been conducted to the outer surface of the phone itself, the small gap between the phone's outer surface and the surrounding case's surface has absolutely no adverse effect on the phone's thermal throttling.
that small gap between the case and the phone is actually a huge amount of space in the context of allowing heat to dissipate.

Put a koozie on a beer. Same effect I'd imagine.

 

[tolili alert]

People prefer not to know the answer to that question; they'll continue putting cases on their phones and celebrating benchmarks that don't apply to them...

 

[TimeOrMoney]

its an interesting question.
i have never seen case-on / case-off data for any mobile device.

i would surmise, however, that once heat has been conducted to the outer surface of the phone itself, the small gap between the phone's outer surface and the surrounding case's surface has absolutely no adverse effect on the phone's thermal throttling.
that small gap between the case and the phone is actually a huge amount of space in the context of allowing heat to dissipate.

Actually not. Air gaps can be an insulator. ANY case makes the iPhone warmer, as it's insulation over a heat generator, although the type of material makes a difference. Not that it matters for this as it's just physics, but I was a design engineer and later engineering manager of many hardware/software product developments in my career, so I do have some first hand knowledge of managing heat.

 

[Macalway]

It's always something.

 

[arc of the universe]

Actually not. Air gaps can be an insulator. ANY case makes the iPhone warmer, as it's insulation over a heat generator, although the type of material makes a difference. Not that it matters for this as it's just physics, but I was a design engineer and later engineering manager of many hardware/software product developments in my career, so I do have some first hand knowledge of managing heat.

thanks. i didn't know that once heat had surfaced to the outside of the phone's wall that throttling (throttling, not feeling warm) would still continue. never had that happen. thanks for the news. i think this will affect my decision about this product. i have just too many times when for example Photos refused to continue syncing due to the iPhone says it needs to cool down.i wouldn't want it to throttle even more, just because of a case.

 

[TimeOrMoney]

thanks. i didn't know that once heat had surfaced to the outside of the phone's wall that throttling (throttling, not feeling warm) would still continue. never had that happen. thanks for the news. i think this will affect my decision about this product. i have just too many times when for example Photos refused to continue syncing due to the iPhone says it needs to cool down.i wouldn't want it to throttle even more, just because of a case.

Which phone did that throttling happen on? I’m hoping that the new cooling on the 17 pro will make that a thing the of the past.

The outside (case) temperature may not be a great indicator of the processor temperature, depending on the cooling design. My new 17 pro is still warm outside when charging, but I haven’t noticed slowdowns(but it’s too early to tell)

 

[littlepud]

Which phone did that throttling happen on? I’m hoping that the new cooling on the 17 pro will make that a thing the of the past.

The outside (case) temperature may not be a great indicator of the processor temperature, depending on the cooling design. My new 17 pro is still warm outside when charging, but I haven’t noticed slowdowns(but it’s too early to tell)

I imagine the previous generations get warm when charging too, but much of the heat gets trapped within the phone versus it getting dissipated with the 17 Pro.

 

[thecautioners]

Not an official case, but I currently have the ESR clear on my 17PM. Noticed no warming this evening during setup and my several hours of basic use, but tomorrow is its first real test!

It’s going to be hot and sunny tomorrow and I’m going to be doing some photo and video of my partner at a skateboarding event midday. With my 16PM I’d expect to see drastic changes happen very quickly while doing these things outside on a hot sunny day—the phone would heat up fast and the screen would dim to the point that it was barely usable. Same with my 15PM and 14PM.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how this phone performs and I’m crossing my fingers that I have a good experience to report back with!

 

[ArchEtech]

The vapor chamber is like a fan that moves air. I double the case effects the cooling strategy. Some cases might hold a little heat though yes.