iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report.

iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature
The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup, consisting of the ‌iPhone 17‌, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader.

Vapor chamber technology is already used in many high-end Android devices. Vapor chambers work by spreading heat evenly across a larger surface area, preventing thermal throttling and maintaining consistent performance, which is particularly beneficial in slim devices.

While the notorious thermal issues of the iPhone 15 Pro were seemingly resolved thanks to the iPhone 16 Pro's new aluminum thermal substructure, graphene sheet, and back glass, the report claims that the device still struggles under intense thermal load. A vapor chamber heatsink would apparently resolve this and allow for better sustained performance.

Last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the ‌‌iPhone 17‌‌ Pro Max will also have an exclusive cooling system that combines vapor chamber technology with graphene sheets. Contrary to the latest report, Kuo said that the other new iPhone models launching in 2025 will continue to rely solely on graphene sheets.

Related Roundup: iPhone 17
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...

Top Rated Comments

Brian_v11 Avatar
26 weeks ago
Found on MSN.com

Attachment Image
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ricketysquire Avatar
26 weeks ago
iPhone 20, now water cooled with a gigantic argb AIO coolersticking out of it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ATmahe Avatar
26 weeks ago

iPhone 20, now water cooled with a gigantic argb AIO coolersticking out of it.
Of course on the diagonal opposite corner of the camera bump, to keep the wobble :D
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProbablyDylan Avatar
26 weeks ago

They have to keep leapfrogging Qualcomm somehow
Do they though? How many phone buyers are cross-shopping based on cpu performance? I can't imagine the average iPhone customer switching to Samsung because Snapdragon [nonsensical naming scheme here] is 5% faster in geekbench multicore.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andres Cantu Avatar
26 weeks ago
They’ve been saying this for years. I’ll believe until I see it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
26 weeks ago
The funny thing is that iPhone 16 Pro Max battery already beats the Samsung S24 Ultra by an hour (Tom’s Guide) without this new thermal design. When Samsung switched to a vapor heatsink on the S23 Ultra, it improved battery life by 3 hours, with the same 5,000 mAh battery.

So the 17 Pro Max might push 20 hours.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)