IPhone 13 and later could adopt vapor chamber cooling of their A15 chip – a technology found on more premium Android smartphones, like the Note 20.
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Typically, smartphones only need to dissipate relatively little heat. But that can quickly change when launching a greedy application, an update, gaming session or fast charging. Smartphones are not the ideal form factor to properly cool their mobile chips. There is indeed very little space inside the device. And manufacturers, including Apple, therefore tend to limit performance when the temperature exceeds a certain level.
However, for several generations, Android manufacturers have drawn a new heat dissipation technology on their most premium models: the steam chamber. The technology first appeared in the Samsung Galaxy smartphone lineup with the S10 +. It can be found until now on smartphones like the Note 20. Concretely the smartphone has an ultra-thin heat pipe. Inside, a little water ensures a much more efficient energy transfer than with a solid copper element.
The heat of the chip causes the evaporation of the liquid inside the heat pipe., which at the same time absorbs a large part of the energy. This vapor moves more easily in empty space than heat in solid material. This allows a better dissipation and therefore better energy performance. On the raw performance side, the smartphone does not normally need to restrict its clock frequencies, which leads to more stable and responsive apps.
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In the hands, the smartphone can also seem a little cooler – in any case the heat should normally be better distributed over the entire casing. Now seems that technology interests Apple. TF International Securities reports that the firm “aggressively” tests heat dissipation systems internally based on steam chambers. System which could therefore be found on smartphones from iPhone 13 which is due to be unveiled in the second half of 2021.
Source: Apple Insider