Mahmoud Itani / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The iPhone 17 Pro Max will reportedly pack an upgraded cooling system incorporating a vapor chamber and graphite sheets.
- The lower-end iPhone 17 models will likely retain the existing graphite sheets for thermal management.
- Certain Android phone manufacturers, including Google, Samsung, and OnePlus, already offer vapor chambers in some of their devices.
Although the iPhone 16 launch is still a couple of weeks away, the rumor mill has already shifted its focus to next year’s big release. According to a new report, the iPhone 17 Pro Max will exclusively introduce an upgraded cooling system. This could bundle the existing graphite sheets with a new vapor chamber.
According to the reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, “an upgraded cooling system combining vapor chamber (VC) technology and graphite sheets” will debut exclusively on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The rest of the lineup, including the regular, Air, and Pro models, will reportedly retain the current graphite sheets and miss out on the vapor chamber.
Given that the iPhone 17 Pro Max is rumored to be the only model to offer 12GB of RAM, it makes sense for Apple to include a more effective thermal management system. After all, the lower-end variants next year will likely stick to the 8GB of RAM first introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro models. Consequently, the graphite sheets should be sufficient to prevent them from overheating.
For those unfamiliar, vapor chamber technology involves a vacuum space with a liquid that evaporates when subjected to heat. The vapor then redistributes the heat and minimizes it. Some Android phones, including certain flagships from Samsung, Google, and OnePlus, have already adopted this technology. 2025’s most advanced iPhone should finally follow suit. It remains unclear whether this addition will expand to all iPhone 18 models in 2026.
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