iPhone 15 Pro Surprise Power Drain Issue: Apple Confirms New Cause

Apple’s iPhones have been getting too hot to handle. At first, it was thought it was the iPhone 15 Pro that was the overheating item, but no, other iPhones have suffered in the same way. While a recent update, iOS 17.0.3, has solved the problem for many, Apple has confirmed that one particular group of people may still be having problems.

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If you have an Apple Watch, it could be that the Watch is the problem, if it’s running the latest beta software.

In its notes for the latest beta of iOS software, Apple confirmed that “Increased power consumption might occur when an Apple Watch running watchOS 10.1 is paired with an iPhone with iOS 17.0 (or watchOS 10.0 is paired with iOS 17.1).”

Let’s deconstruct this. If you have an iPhone running the recent general-release software, iOS 17.0, but your Apple Watch is running pre-release software version watchOS 10.1, you could have a problem.

If you have the latest pre-release software on your iPhone, that is, iOS 17.1, but your Watch has watchOS 10, again, you could have a problem.

The problem is increased power consumption, which means two things: your battery will run dry sooner, and the iPhone may get hot as a result. Apple doesn’t specify overheating, merely increased power consumption but, frankly, the two go hand in hand.

The latest beta version of iOS 17.1, which is the third beta, has addressed the problem and fixed it, Apple says in the same release notes. The same beta update fixes a problem where the Wallet app could crash in certain circumstances.

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The good news is the solution is at hand by updating to the latest beta and, of course, the possibility of battery drain only applies if you’re pairing Watch with iPhone and one is running beta software.

The vast majority of iPhone and Watch users are unaffected because it’s the general-release software that’s in place on both devices.

The new iOS beta also has new ways that the Action Button will behave, specifically what it does when the phone is in your pocket and more options for when the display is in StandBy mode, the clever new feature that shows information when the iPhone is charging in landscape orientation.

The iOS update is expected to reach general release this month and we know for sure that watchOS 10.1 is almost here: it’s the update required to make the brilliant double tap feature work on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple said when the Watches were first revealed that the update would arrive in October.