Iphone 4s heating up during gameplay

[Pringles]

Does anybody else's device heat up a lot while playing games like real racing, mc3 and asphalt 6

 

[Ra1nMaKeR]

Nope... Maybe if you turn 3G off it might help.

 

[8nobody8]

No but it got real hot when I used the filming function in camera for about 8 minutes!

 

[Skull One]

Everyone's iPhone 4S will heatup while running certain applications. Four years of Apple allowing very poor coding practices is going to bite them in the rear now. Here is the basic scenario that is occurring.

Applications have two very basic types of programming loops. Using "pseudo code":

This module is what 95% of all non-gaming applications use. The remaining 5% use the gaming loop below.

while not done
  display screen
  wait for user input
  get user input
  process result
loop back to while

This module is what roughly 85% of all game use. The other 15% use the above code.

while not done
  get user input
  process result
  display screen
loop back to while

Now the first code block uses very little battery. Because it is spending almost its entire time waiting for us very slow users to interact with the screen. On the other hand the gaming loop is running full tilt regardless of what the user is doing. The reason for that is simple. You have to move the graphic elements on the screen constantly.

So about now you might be asking "Well if that is how it has been done on iOS since day one, why is this now bad"? Because before now, the CPU and GPU have always been the throttle of how much battery was being drained. Mainly because the GPU could only output so many "Frames Per Second". But with the iPhone 4s being seven times faster than than anything before it, now the same code can run more times. And every time that loop runs it costs you battery life.

So the coders now have to look at how many FPS is acceptable to show nice smooth animation vs how much battery life they want to drain. The new code block will look like this.

while not done
   get user input
  process result
  wait for x time to pass before displaying so we get exactly 30 FPS.  
  display screen
loop back to while

That's it. A very simple change that now has to be implemented in a lot of applications that are currently in use by millions of people.

 

[Pringles]

Everyone's iPhone 4S will heatup while running certain applications. Four years of Apple allowing very poor coding practices is going to bite them in the rear now. Here is the basic scenario that is occurring.

Applications have two very basic types of programming loops. Using "pseudo code":

This module is what 95% of all non-gaming applications use. The remaining 5% use the gaming loop below.

while not done
display screen
wait for user input
get user input
process result
loop back to while

This module is what roughly 85% of all game use. The other 15% use the above code.

while not done
get user input
process result
display screen
loop back to while

Now the first code block uses very little battery. Because it is spending almost its entire time waiting for us very slow users to interact with the screen. On the other hand the gaming loop is running full tilt regardless of what the user is doing. The reason for that is simple. You have to move the graphic elements on the screen constantly.

So about now you might be asking "Well if that is how it has been done on iOS since day one, why is this now bad"? Because before now, the CPU and GPU have always been the throttle of how much battery was being drained. Mainly because the GPU could only output so many "Frames Per Second". But with the iPhone 4s being seven times faster than than anything before it, now the same code can run more times. And every time that loop runs it costs you battery life.

So the coders now have to look at how many FPS is acceptable to show nice smooth animation vs how much battery life they want to drain. The new code block will look like this.


while not done
get user input
process result
wait for x time to pass before displaying so we get exactly 30 FPS.
display screen
loop back to while

That's it. A very simple change that now has to be implemented in a lot of applications that are currently in use by millions of people.

So wats resulting in my device to heat up is the very thing apple was bragging about and maybe the selling point for a lot of people, the more frames per second witch gives better and smother picture and gaming experience on a mobile device

On a side note to the extreme heating up of my 4s thats also why i see a sudden decrease in my battery wen i play real racing wen i say decrease i mean a rapid drop in battery. I went from around 90% to 65% battery in less then a hour of play appose to me playing angry birds witch doesn't zap my battery.So i guess i wont be playin those intense graphic games on my daily ride to and from school anymore

Also being the first iPhone I'm to own after letting go my blackberry because of the lag i get on my torch. The biggest down side for me on my 4s i have to say is the battery life so im thinking im going to have to invest in one of those cases with a built in charger and carry that around with me most of the time to get threw the day.

Don't get me wrong though i like my new phone but doing simple things like texting and jus looking in the corner of my phone and seeing my battery % drop before my eyes is kinda discouraging

 

[Skull One]

The heat you are feeling is the direct result of the maximum amount of electrons flowing thru the CPU and GPU. Friction doesn't care how tiny your electrons are

 

[stylesdxz]

My iPhone 4s has been heating up during phone calls, while browsing forums and surfing safari. I am taking into sprint today to see if they can find a issue.

 

[Skull One]

They won't. They can't. And if you demand a new phone, you will probably get one. But it won't fix the core issue.

BTW, have you done a factory reset and only restored the apps and contacts manually to see if that clears your issue?

 

[Pringles]

They won't. They can't. And if you demand a new phone, you will probably get one. But it won't fix the core issue.

BTW, have you done a factory reset and only restored the apps and contacts manually to see if that clears your issue?

Yup did that the 3rd day having the phone hoping to solve a lot of my problems with the phone. Did it work yea maybe but running games thats another story im talking about battery drop of about 20% in less then 40 mins maybe even less

 

[Pringles]

Answers like that are pointless and dont help the productivity of the forum.

 

[boha]

hi, when some critical process is running for more time, it will slightly heats up...its normal..

 

[FireFang]

So wats resulting in my device to heat up is the very thing apple was bragging about and maybe the selling point for a lot of people, the more frames per second witch gives better and smother picture and gaming experience on a mobile device

On a side note to the extreme heating up of my 4s thats also why i see a sudden decrease in my battery wen i play real racing wen i say decrease i mean a rapid drop in battery. I went from around 90% to 65% battery in less then a hour of play appose to me playing angry birds witch doesn't zap my battery.So i guess i wont be playin those intense graphic games on my daily ride to and from school anymore

Also being the first iPhone I'm to own after letting go my blackberry because of the lag i get on my torch. The biggest down side for me on my 4s i have to say is the battery life so im thinking im going to have to invest in one of those cases with a built in charger and carry that around with me most of the time to get threw the day.

Don't get me wrong though i like my new phone but doing simple things like texting and jus looking in the corner of my phone and seeing my battery % drop before my eyes is kinda discouraging

Do You Know HOW MUCH BIG that game Real Racing is? Its About 1.6 GB i think and you mention 40 min of gameplay... Offcourse your battery will drain down 90-60% because it is such a big game.... As compared to angry birds......

And As far as heating goes it is all natural.... Just let it cool ..... I ve been using iphone 4s for over a year now.... It heats up when i play big games like NBA 2k13 and Real Racing etc etc
I just put it aside for cooling

if i am in hurry i put it in the fridge for few seconds or just cool it with a wet cloth .... Problem solved !!

 

[Skimonkey]

Since this thread is over 2 years old, most of the members have moved on and have resolved the issue.

With this-we will now close this thread. Thank you for your understanding.

Ski ~ iPadforums Moderator | iPhoneForums Moderator