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.

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.