With thousands of summer holidays abroad cancelled, the scorching heatwave sweeping the UK right now can be a blessing. But while the soaring mercury might be perfect for barbecues with family, walks with friends, or lazy afternoons reading in the park – it could be ruining one of the most expensive gadgets in your pocket. Despite being designed in California, it turns out iPhones aren’t too keen on the heat.
And as the UK swelters in record-breaking 37ºC (98ºF) temperatures, it could cause havoc with your smartphone. If you’ve recently signed-up for a 24-month contract, or paid £1,499 on a top-of-the-line iPhone 11 Pro Max from the Apple Store – that’s not ideal.
All electrical equipment, including the iPhone, has an optimal temperature range in which it can operate. When temperatures get too cold or too hot, it can cause havoc with the components inside the device, causing operations to slow, stutter, or shutdown.
Apple warns customers on its support pages that exceeding that optimal temperature range could “permanently shorten battery life” – meaning you might have to start packing an external battery pack whenever you leave the house in order to get through a day away from the wall socket.
If your iPhone gets too hot, it can shutdown automatically in order to preserve the important components inside. While this is a crucial feature, it can be annoying if you need to make a call, reply to a text, or get directions… so it’s worth trying to avoid letting the handset get too hot.
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iPhone and other iOS devices, including iPad and iPod Touch, should only be used “where the ambient temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F). Low- or high-temperature conditions might cause the device to change its behaviour to regulate its temperature,” Apple warns.
With temperatures in the UK already exceeding the recommended ambient temperature, iPhone owners need to be really careful. Leaving your handset in direct sunlight outside, on a windowsill, or view of a mirror that is reflecting sunlight could cause the temperature to spike even higher.
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Leaving your iPhone in a parked car could also spell disaster for your battery life.
Apple also warns against performing some processor-intensive tasks when your iPhone is “in hot conditions or direct sunlight for an extended period of time”. These include GPS tracking or navigation in a car, playing a graphics-intensive game, or using augmented-reality apps.
The news comes as other electrical equipment, like Wi-Fi routers, can also perform in unexpected ways in the heat – potentially leading to slower internet connections. As temperatures rise and millions work, study and socialise from home using video conferencing tools, the timing couldn’t be worse.