Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Researchers from Southampton University found that when smartphones get too hot, they can deliberately reduce processor performance - a process called thermal throttling - to help prevent temperatures from rising even further.
Oxford DPhil student Yaroslava Bukhta explains more.
Reference: Bantock JRB, Al-Hashimi BM & Merrett GV (2021), Mitigating Interactive Performance Degradation From Mobile Device Thermal Throttling, IEEE Embedded Systems Letters. University of Southampton.
TRANSCRIPT:
Did you notice your phone glitching under the extreme heat? Well, and not just the phone.
Turns out, there's actually a good reason behind that.
So, modern phones use thermal throttling to help manage heat. This means that when a phone gets too hot, it can limit the maximum frequency of its processor to stop temperatures from rising even further. Researchers at the University of Southampton studied how thermal throttling affects smartphone performance.
The study shows that thermal throttling works by capping processor frequency when a device gets too hot. So, it's kind of like a safety mechanism.
Your phone's processor can run extremely fast, and let's be honest, we're paying extra for that. But running fast creates heat, and unlike a desktop computer, your phone doesn't have a large cooling system or fan to get rid of that heat. So, when a phone approaches its temperature limits, it automatically reduces the speed of its processor to stop temperatures from rising even further.
Now, in the researchers' test phone, thermal throttling began when the device reached around 40 degrees. In one gaming test on a Google Pixel 2, it kicked in after around 151 seconds. The researchers also found that frequency capping can have a significant effect on interactive apps, increasing stutters and dropped frames by up to 146%.
So, if your phone feels slower on a hot day, it might not be getting old; it's just doing exactly what it's designed to do.
So, maybe take a hydration break and find somewhere cooler, both for you and your phone.
Researchers from Southampton University found that when smartphones get too hot, they can deliberately reduce processor performance - a process called thermal throttling - to help prevent temperatures from rising even further.
Oxford DPhil student Yaroslava Bukhta explains more.
Reference: Bantock JRB, Al-Hashimi BM & Merrett GV (2021), Mitigating Interactive Performance Degradation From Mobile Device Thermal Throttling, IEEE Embedded Systems Letters. University of Southampton.
TRANSCRIPT:
Did you notice your phone glitching under the extreme heat? Well, and not just the phone.
Turns out, there's actually a good reason behind that.
So, modern phones use thermal throttling to help manage heat. This means that when a phone gets too hot, it can limit the maximum frequency of its processor to stop temperatures from rising even further. Researchers at the University of Southampton studied how thermal throttling affects smartphone performance.
The study shows that thermal throttling works by capping processor frequency when a device gets too hot. So, it's kind of like a safety mechanism.
Your phone's processor can run extremely fast, and let's be honest, we're paying extra for that. But running fast creates heat, and unlike a desktop computer, your phone doesn't have a large cooling system or fan to get rid of that heat. So, when a phone approaches its temperature limits, it automatically reduces the speed of its processor to stop temperatures from rising even further.
Now, in the researchers' test phone, thermal throttling began when the device reached around 40 degrees. In one gaming test on a Google Pixel 2, it kicked in after around 151 seconds. The researchers also found that frequency capping can have a significant effect on interactive apps, increasing stutters and dropped frames by up to 146%.
So, if your phone feels slower on a hot day, it might not be getting old; it's just doing exactly what it's designed to do.
So, maybe take a hydration break and find somewhere cooler, both for you and your phone.
