It's common knowledge that most iPhones get hot when playing demanding games. If you play something like Death Stranding on an iPhone 16 Pro Max, you might find yourself moving your hands around if a third-party controller isn't connected to the handset, just to avoid the rising temperatures. Fortunately, Apple has seemingly put this issue to rest, thanks to the redesigned internals of the iPhone 17 Pro. A new teardown reveals that it's not just the vapor chamber that's making the device run cooler.
iFixit, a store and how-to site based in the U.S., published an 11-minute video on YouTube opening up an iPhone 17 Pro and revealing its contents, such as the A19 Pro chip, battery, the vapor chamber, and more. Unlike inside the iPhone 16 Pro, the current top pick from our guide to the best iPhones for gaming, the battery isn't screwed down but instead sits in a metal tray, so it could be easier for authorized repair locations to replace it. You can check out the iFixit teardown a little further down the page.
Underneath the battery is the A19 Pro chip and the vapor chamber, which is where things get interesting, especially for gamers. iFixit found that when the iPhone 17 Pro is under some stress, the heat from the A19 Pro goes to the vapor chamber, where the water turns it into steam and eventually is distributed across the aluminum frame design. This means playing the best iPhone games will not warm up your iPhone, nor your hands, after a short period of time, laying to rest a years-long overheating issue.
Apple has focused on durability more than ever for its latest iPhones this year, both inside and out. You can see in its promotional videos that Apple seems proud to highlight how an iPhone 17 can fall from a great height and not smash. But this also applies to the internals of these handsets. It's all well and good to have a more durable iPhone if you're prone to dropping it, but it's only half of the story when you want to play some great Apple Arcade games, and it gets hot to the touch. Thanks to the vapor chamber, there's durability inside the iPhone 17 Pro, too.
If you've been wanting to upgrade to an iPhone that's better at managing heat when playing your favorite games, the iPhone 17 Pro could be the one to go for. If you're looking for a good deal, our iPhone 17 pre-orders guide is still full of fantastic options, even if the phone is now available via most major tech retailers.
If you're curious about how Android could benefit your gaming instead, check out our guides to the best Android phones and the best gaming phones while you're here. Or, if you're looking for something just to game on without the distractions, take a look at our list of the best handheld consoles.