Popular tech influencer Marques Brownlee recently shared his experience of the iPhone 15 Pro overheating while using Instagram and listening to music. He explained that the phone gets extremely hot for about 5 minutes, draining the battery by around 5%, before returning to normal. Another tech reviewer, @iPhonedo, also reported similar overheating issues with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPad Pro after updating to iOS 17. The battery life was significantly affected, with a 1 percentage point drop per minute. @iPhonedo discovered that using Low Power Mode while on Instagram helped a bit with the heat, but the battery still drained.
The main question raised by this issue is why it specifically occurs with Instagram. Faruk, the person behind @iPhonedo, tried to bring attention to this problem to no avail. It’s important to note that earlier this year, a former Facebook employee named George Hayward claimed that Facebook intentionally drains smartphone batteries as part of a testing process called “negative testing.” This may be relevant to Instagram’s battery-draining issue, as Facebook owns Instagram. Despite the lack of response from Instagram, users can test Faruk’s theory by temporarily deleting the app and observing if the iPhone 15 Pro continues to overheat. Enabling Low Power Mode while using Instagram might also alleviate the heat issue.
In conclusion, reports from tech influencers and a former Facebook employee suggest that there is a problem with Instagram specifically causing the iPhone 15 Pro to overheat and drain its battery. The overheating issue seems to be related to the iOS 17 update. Deleting Instagram or using Low Power Mode while on the app may help mitigate the problem. However, Instagram has yet to address the issue and users are advised to test the theories mentioned above to find a suitable solution.