Many of us rely on our phones every day for work, leisure, and to stay connected with friends and family. As they are so integral to our day-to-day, when something goes awry with these devices, it can be super frustrating. Phones break and sometimes they just stop working when they're outdated, but you may also experience daily mishaps that are just plain inconvenient. If you're an Android user and you've noticed your phone is overheating recently, you're not alone. Read on to find out why experts think this issue is occurring.
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Androids have recently been overheating, which may be caused by an internal processing chip.
Andrey Suslov / ShutterstockWhen your phone suddenly starts getting hot, you may immediately worry that you did something wrong. But if you're experiencing this with your Android, it could be related to an issue that is out of your control. Your phone may be overheating due to an internal chip designed by a company called ARM, Android Authority said. Both Samsung and Qualcomm (which supplies the processing chips for Android smartphones) base their flagship processors on this chip.
Last month, Samsung actually came under fire for "throttling," or slowing the performance of certain apps, which the company said was to prevent overheating, Android Authority reported. These issues are also causing problems with performance and power consumption, BusinessKorea reported. But some experts believe that this may not all be related to ARM's design—it could also be part of the manufacturing process.
Apple uses the same design for the iPhones application processors, but they are not experiencing issues.
ShutterstockApple bases its chip on ARM's design (but modifies it for the iOS system and iPhone products), and is not experiencing overheating or performance concerns. This gives more weight to the theory that this issue is tied to manufacturing and the performance of the Android itself.
"Meanwhile, Qualcomm is developing application processors for use by multiple manufacturers, perhaps hinting at less efficient optimizations," Android Authority reported. "Although, you could argue that Samsung has a similar manufacturing optimization advantage as Apple so this explanation seems unlikely."
Is there a solution for this Android issue in sight?
ShutterstockDespite the uproar Samsung faced in March about throttling and limited performance, there isn't a clear fix at this point, according to Android Authority. "Hopefully Qualcomm and Samsung will figure out an effective way to tune their designs to rival Apple's energy efficiency," the outlet said. "Otherwise, overheating phones and thrilled processors may become the new norm."
Here's what to do if your Android is heating up.
photoschmidt / ShutterstockWhile there is no plan in place to address Android's issue, if your phone is overheating, there are some steps you can take to try and cool it down. According to AVG, your Android can heat up if you have outdated apps, if you're streaming content (like Netflix or YouTube), or if you simply left it out in the sun for too long.
To bring your Android back to a normal temperature, you will want to use less power, so AVG advises taking a break from using it. But if you can't put down your phone, you can also try reducing screen brightness, closing apps you're not using, and switching to Android's Battery Saver mode. If your Android overheats when it's charging, you could have a damaged battery, charging port, or charging cable. You can problem-solve here by replacing different components to see if they fix the issue.
Restarting your phone can also be a catch-all for certain issues, but you may want to seek help from a professional who can replace your battery or help you screen for potential malware.
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