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Birchier has been benchmarking the A20 Pro processor inside the iPhone 18 Pro, and it has so far offered excellent transcription results in its normal non-sparkling-water-cooled configuration. In one test run, the latest Apple smartphone hit a maximum speed of 447.9 words per second, before settling down to a little over 320 for the 7th to the 20th runs. The reduced performance during the latter stages of a prolonged benchmark run is normal for nearly every portable device, as they reduce performance to avoid thermally damaging their chips and other components.
It’s exactly for this reason that high-performance computers often come with the best CPU coolers , with some enthusiasts preferring the best AIO coolers or custom water-cooling loops to get the most out of their high-end processors. However, this usually isn’t possible with most mainstream phones, unless you’re running a specialized gaming handset like the liquid-cooled Redmagic 11 Pro — but it seems that Birchler found a solution for the iPhone 18 Pro. “I did some benchmarking today and saw how the newest iPhone thermal throttles, which isn’t severe, but does happen,” the developer said. “I know from experience that if you put a cold beverage on the back of your phone, it will cool down really quick, so I thought…the test is obvious.”
So, Birchler pulled out an ice-cold can of La Croix from the fridge, started a benchmarking session consisting of 20 runs, and placed the drink on the back of the phone. After the tests were completed, the results were as expected: even though its initial run had a slightly lower result of 429.5 words per second, the “liquid-cooled” iPhone 18 Pro had a higher average of 400.4. This meant that giving the iPhone a cold drink helped it sustain around 25% higher performance, but at the cost of keeping the phone facing down while running heavy loads.
The average user wouldn’t need cooling solutions like these for most mobile devices. But if you use your device for extensive loads, like gaming or shooting and editing photos and videos, you might notice slower performance and a dimmer screen after a few minutes. You could follow Birchler’s lead and strap a cold drink to the back of your phone to reduce thermal throttling, but it’s going to be inconvenient and impractical. After all, it’s quite awkward to hold your phone while a can is sticking out of its back. This is why some smartphone accessory manufacturers make devices like the Black Shark Magnetic Phone Cooler 6 Pro for gamers or the SmallRig Universal Hyper Chill Cooling Phone Cage and the Tilta Khronos Advanced Kit for filmmakers.
Modder straps two desktop CPU coolers to ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra, turns smartphone into a gaming PC
iPhone 18 Pro Max storage can drop lower than a hard drive at 1.1 MB/s during heavy writes
Frore claims its LiquidJet can drop Nvidia Rubin GPU temperatures by 10°C
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/liquid-cooling/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/liquid-cooling/enthusiast-cooled-iphone-18-pro-with-cold-can-of-la-croix-sparkling-water-benchmarks-show-25-percent-higher-sustained-performance-liquid-cooling-surprisingly-reduced-thermal-throttling#main
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.