The social media buzz about Apple’s iPhone 15 overheating issue is starting to point the finger at Instagram. iPhone 15 series releases have been plagued by overheating issues when the smartphone is under heavy load, such as when charging or used for intense gaming. However, using it for Instagram, an image-based social networking app, also seems to trigger overheating.
As part of his iPhone 15 Pro review, Marques Brownless (aka MKBHD) took the time to discuss battery usage and overheating, confirming that he did experience the latter, “but not in the way I expected.”
Recalling using his iPhone to record a golf tournament in hot weather, MKBHD says the iPhone worked fine. However, on the flight back, the YouTube sensation was running Spotify and browsing Instagram at the same time, only to find that the iPhone heated up and rapidly drained about 5% of its power in a five-minute span.
Brownless provided a screenshot of the battery section of the settings. The image shows that Instagram is the app with the highest battery usage, with Spotify coming in second. Bug fixes and app updates could solve these issues in the short term.
Farouk, a tech reviewer at iPhonedo, found a similar situation with Instagram on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. He confirmed this claim by monitoring iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, and iPad Pro comparison tests on devices updated to iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 and running Instagram.
In the tests, Instagram on the iPhone 15 Pro Max did “almost nothing” while running, and consumed about 10% of the battery in a ten-minute period.
While iPhoneDo’s tests seem to have found the problem, namely Instagram on iOS 17, it’s not an issue that affects all users. The YouTuber admitted that the issue only affects “a small number of people” and is not a more widespread problem.
Instagram and parent company Meta have yet to respond to the new claims.
