- IPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Refreshed again to have a steam chamber
- However, the base iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 air may not have one
- A steam chamber could prevent overheating, enabling better sustained performance and improved battery life
A few months ago, we heard that the iPhone 17 series could get a steam chamber to help prevent overheating, and now another source has repeated these claims – and even provided some evidence.
Leaker Majin BU (via MacRumors) claims to have learned from an “internal source” that both the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will have a steam chamber. This will reportedly be a pro-exclusive upgrade, which is in violation of the previous leakage that pointed out that all four models were given a steam chamber.
In any case, we would take this latest tip with a pinch of salt as BU has a mixed track record, but they have delivered a picture of what they claim is part of a steam chamber intended for these upcoming phones (below).
The allegedly leaked image – combined with the fact that several sources have now mentioned a steam chamber – suggests that at least some iPhone 17 models can get this upgrade.
Keeping it cool
In the layman’s terms, a steam chamber must be able to cool these phones more efficiently than the graphite sheets used for heat drainage in current iPhones.
A steam chamber is a small metal chamber full of liquid and that liquid turns to steam when heated, enabling the heat to spread over the surface area of the chamber. It acts as a way to pull the heat away from internal components that have several benefits.
First, this prevents damage to the components of overheating, but it should also reduce the need for thermal throttling – that is, benefit reductions to cool the phone. So even if you push the iPhone 17 Pro hard with games or other demanding applications, it should be able to stay relatively cool and maintain its performance better.
This should also make the phone more energy efficient so that the life of the battery could also be improved.
Obviously, there are many potential benefits of a steam chamber, so we hope this leakage turns out to be accurate. We had to find out in September as it is when the iPhone 17 series is likely to be launched.
