New iPhone 16 Thermal Design High on Buyers' Wishlist, Survey Suggests

[MacRumors]

A recent survey conducted by SellCell suggests that a significant majority of iPhone users are planning to upgrade to the upcoming iPhone 16 series, with many expressing a preference for a better thermal design to prevent overheating issues.

The survey, which polled over 2,000 US-based iPhone owners (1,000 males and 1,000 females), found that 61.9% of respondents plan to purchase an iPhone 16 model upon release.

Competitive pricing emerged as the most crucial factor, with 30.9% of respondents citing it as the primary influence on their decision to upgrade. But it was improved heat management that turned out to be another key area of interest, with 26.8% of users hoping for better thermal performance to prevent overheating issues.

Shortly after the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max were released last September, some customers began to experience an issue with the devices overheating. Apple eventually mitigated the problem with an iOS 17 update, but iPhone 16 models are expected to be equipped with a new thermal design to address potential overheating.

The SellCell survey also revealed significant interest in Apple Intelligence capabilities for the iPhone 16. A striking 82.1% of respondents expressed willingness to wait up to a month after release for the AI features to be fully implemented. Apple plans to release Apple Intelligence features in an iOS 18.1 update that is expected to arrive in October.

Another intriguing finding was the interest in larger displays for the iPhone 16 series. Despite the current iPhone 15 Pro Max already boasting a 6.7-inch screen, over half of the respondents (54.9%) indicated they would welcome even bigger iPhones. The finding chimes with expectations that the iPhone 16 Pro models will have slightly bigger displays.

However, there was a notable gender divide on the issue of display size. The majority of men (62.1%) were in favor of larger displays, while women are more evenly split, with 47.8% expressing interest in bigger screens. Some female respondents cited concerns about handling and holding larger devices comfortably.

For those who said they won't be buying the iPhone 16, most people (34.2%) cited the expense as the reason, closely followed by people who won't invest because they are keeping their existing phone (34.1%).

• iPhone 16 Launch Is Less Than One Month Out – Here's Everything We Know

Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone 16 lineup next month at an event that could take place on Tuesday, September 10, although Apple has not yet provided official confirmation of the date.

Article Link: New iPhone 16 Thermal Design High on Buyers' Wishlist, Survey Suggests

 

[marco114]

I've never had an issue with overheating.

 

[Kylo83]

I want a cooling chamber but all we are gonna get is a battery with different outline material, the iPhone has always had a huge problem with heat; I can’t watch a video on YouTube outside without the display dimming

 

[Kylo83]

I've never had an issue with overheating.

Watch a YouTube video in picture and picture and see the phone go red hot

 

[omenatarhuri]

Really surprising so many people care about this, maybe its more relevant to gamers and users of other resource-intensive apps?

 

[Ramchi]

Will they openly admit on the stage that we have improved the thermal issue that your iPhone 15 has by fixing it with liquid cooling like many android mobiles have?

 

[CharlesShaw]

Do any MR readers respond to these sorts of surveys? I've always completed Apple's surveys (very few have been requested of me), but delete the requests for other surveys.

 

[McWetty]

Always felt like overheating was a software issue. Certain apps cause issues (mostly having to do with media encoding or decoding), but on the whole, my iPhone 15P doesn’t have any issues.

I’m more surprised how this group wants bigger screens…

 

[JitteryJimmy]

I'm not sure what kind of "survey" this is, but I find it awful weird that "thermal design" is one of the most important purchase decisions for the average buyer. Battery life, appearance, and durability were not even survey options. WTF?

It feels like a PC fanboy dream: "Thermals are most important to me, and I hope they use the amazing thermal paste and water cooling like I have on my home-built gaming rig"

My guess is that respondents saw the word "design" and clicked that one, assuming that "thermal design" means "appearance". After all, 99% of people I know have no idea what "thermal design" actually means, despite the survey's attempt to explain it in a half sentence.

 

[swissglide]

Survey: “do you want tech to prevent overheating?”
Respondent: “oooh, overheating sounds real bad, I don’t want my phone to start doing that! Better mark this one high.”

 

[PsykX]

This seems vastly exaggerated.

It's not much of an issue really since the fixes. Of course it can be improved...
I'd be shocked to really see people wanting to upgrade for better engineering in the thermals department. It can be one thing amongst many others, but THE main thing? 🧐

 

[sunapple]

The iPhone 6S got a stronger frame to prevent bending and the iPhone 4S got better antennas for better reception. Still some people felt the need to defend Apple on their initially flawed designs. Always an interesting phenomenon.

 

[rustygh]

Watch a YouTube video in picture and picture and see the phone go red hot

Interesting, I guess not loading youtube has paid off more than I knew?
Safari with extension or side load uyou with Alt Store

 

[brofkand]

Really surprising so many people care about this, maybe its more relevant to gamers and users of other resource-intensive apps?

Like, I don't know - "Pro" use cases on a "Pro" device? Hmm.

 

[rustygh]

The iPhone 6S got a stronger frame to prevent bending and the iPhone 4S got better antennas for better reception. Still some people felt the need to defend Apple on their initially flawed designs. Always an interesting phenomenon.

wasn't that "your holding it wrong" antenna issue? LOL at people that thought that guy was anything more than a glorified sales man that would cheat his own grandma!

 

[MrRom92]

I want faster charging. It shouldn’t take 2 hours for my phone to go from 83% to 100%. If I don’t use a fast charger, my phone literally loses power while it is on a normal charger. I have to wake up at 4 in the morning to go downstairs to my fast charger to make sure I have a full battery to last me through most of the day before I leave the house??

 

[mblm85]

I bet if you asked 100 people in the real world what they wanted from the next iPhone, a grand total of zero would say “I want a new thermal design”..

 

[justperry]

Some female respondents cited concerns about handling and holding larger devices comfortably.



So...size does matter.


Think it's a smart move to redesign the thermal components, but, on the other hand, you feel it when you left your flashlight or your camera on while it's pocketed.

 

[azentropy]

Some female respondents cited concerns about handling and holding larger devices comfortably.



So...size does matter.

Right - 45.1% total and 52.2% off women indicate they would welcome smaller or the same size iPhones!

 

[klasma]

I've never had an issue with overheating.

Yes, but we’re talking about phones, not about humans.

 

[sehns]

I don't ever care about cpu performance on my phone - I care about size and battery performance. Why do they always feel the need to push the CPU/GPU even harder which isn't possible without increasing the size of the battery and the amount of heat produced.

Just give me a nice cool phone that fits nicely in the hand, can just run normal apps and has a nice bright display. And not too much camera bulge. I guess i have to wait for the iPhone SE

 

[bigjnyc]

Another intriguing finding was the interest in larger displays for the ‌iPhone 16‌ series. Despite the current ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max already boasting a 6.7-inch screen, over half of the respondents (54.9%) indicated they would welcome even bigger iPhones. The finding chimes with expectations that the iPhone 16 Pro models will have slightly bigger displays.

The iphone mini crowd: "WhY dOEs APpLe KeEp MaKIng thE PhOne BIgGer!!!!'

Well because there's only like 2 or 3 of you that still find that tiny stamp sized screen functional in 2024 lol

 

[klasma]

My guess is that respondents saw the word "design" and clicked that one, assuming that "thermal design" means "appearance". After all, 99% of people I know have no idea what "thermal design" actually means, despite the survey's attempt to explain it in a half sentence.

Look at the actual question, it says “combat overheating”. To me the result rather indicates that users are mostly happy with their phones and don’t care too much about features like AI, additional buttons, or new colors, but have experienced their phones noticeably heating up in certain circumstances and certainly don’t want them to overheat.

 

[spazzcat]

I want faster charging. It shouldn’t take 2 hours for my phone to go from 83% to 100%. If I don’t use a fast charger, my phone literally loses power while it is on a normal charger. I have to wake up at 4 in the morning to go downstairs to my fast charger to make sure I have a full battery to last me through most of the day before I leave the house??

This is by design; your battery slows down after 80% to save battery life.

Edit: Also, sounds like you have a battery issue or an app is using a largre amount of battery.

 

[MacRazySwe]

[...] closely followed by people who won't invest because they are keeping their existing phone (34.1%).

Invest? Invest in a phone? Not sure that's the right word to use. Well, maybe if the new AI functionality in the 16-series can actually make me money in ways that a 15 can't...