Tech influencer Marques Brownlee recently shared his experience with the iPhone 15 Pro overheating issue. He stated that the phone gets extremely hot and drains around 5% of the battery within a span of 5 minutes. However, after this brief episode, the phone returns to normal. Another tech reviewer, @iPhonedo, also blamed the Instagram app for the overheating problem, noting that it occurred after updating to iOS 17. He mentioned that the battery life declined rapidly, losing 1 percentage point per minute while using Instagram.
@iPhonedo demonstrated the issue in a YouTube video, showing the temperature of the iPhone 15 Pro Max rising from 80 degrees Fahrenheit to over 96 degrees. He highlighted that this problem was exclusive to the Instagram app. Although he needs Instagram for work, he found that enabling Low Power Mode while using the app helped mitigate some of the heat, although battery drain still occurred. @iPhonedo’s attempts to bring this issue to Instagram’s attention have been in vain, emphasizing that this is not an iPhone problem but rather an issue with the Instagram app.
This overheating problem can be linked to former Facebook employee George Hayward’s claim that Facebook intentionally drains phone batteries through a process known as “negative testing.” Hayward stated that this testing is used to assess app features and image loading. However, he was fired by Meta (the company that owns Instagram) after refusing to participate in this practice. Although Hayward’s lawsuit was dropped due to arbitration obligations, his experience sheds light on why Instagram may be causing the iPhone 15 Pro models to overheat. Users can test this theory by temporarily deleting the Instagram app and observing if the overheating issue persists. Additionally, enabling Low Power Mode while using Instagram may reduce the heat generated by the app.
