At release, Apple’s brand new iPhone 15 models were plagued by issues such as overheating and screen image burn-in, which Apple has worked to resolve over the past month.

 Many iPhone 15 users who purchased their iPhones on or soon after launch day reported two major issues with their new devices, those being overheating and screen burn-in. Overheating was observed  to the point where the phone becomes hard to hold, according to reports on Apple’s official online forums. Screen image burn-in, or image persistence as Apple calls it, can be defined as the shadow or translucent appearance of an icon or image on the screen of the iPhone (Apple). While both of these issues have been reported on previous models, their prevalence on the iPhone 15 was more pronounced.

These issues have also been reported heavily in the online community, with several tech review YouTube channels posting videos of iPhone 15s heating to over 100℉. Jason Heiner of ZDNET, a Tech news and review outlet, posted thermal imaging of his personal iPhone 15 heating up during a charging cycle `. Heiner recorded a high of 107℉ before Apple’s fix, which if sustained, according to Apple, could cause long lasting damage to the iPhone and battery. However, 93.8℉ was measured in the same testing condition after Apple’s iOS 17.0.3 update, which had the goal of working to fix the issue. According to Apple’s official website, the update “addresses an issue that may cause iPhone to run warmer than expected.’’ 

About 20 days after iOS 17.0.3, Apple released iOS 17.1, which fixed, or aimed to fix the screen image persistence. Again, on Apple’s official website, it was listed that the update “Fixes an issue that may cause display image persistence.” Consumer reports on Apple’s official forum have posted that in several cases the persistence of images on the screen has decreased, and left in some cases, while several of the complaints remain unresolved. 

Senior Zain Abuhatab has indicated that his experience with the iPhone 15 is similar to consumer reports.

“I used to have overheating around the time I first got the phone, but after they released the update to help with the overheating, it’s been minimal,” said Abuhatab.

Abuhatab  also noted that the severity of the overheating was enough to almost burn his hands without the case on the phone. However, Abuhatab says that the problem has mostly gone away, though high temperatures are still observed during fast charging. 

Additionally, negative publicity generated by widespread reports of these issues has had an impact on potential consumers. Junior Denzel Agbeko, who is looking to upgrade his current iPhone 11, claimed that he is more wary of placing own investment on an iPhone 15. However, he acknowledged that other products undergo a similar refinement process.

 “I tend to wait a bit after for the market to settle and for the issues to really be resolved,” Agbeko said. 

Agbeko also acknowledged that the issues on the iPhone 15 were more pronounced than on previous models.

As for now, despite the initial issues of the iPhone 15, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO reported a “September quarter revenue record for iPhone and an all-time revenue record in Services,” Via Apple’s newsroom, indicating that sales are still up in light of these problems.