Despite the iPhone 3GS being out and nifty, a number of handset owners have reported problems wherein some units overheat and become too hot to touch. According to French web site Le Journal du Geek and the Apple Core, the handsets are apparently becoming so warm that their white plastic cases are discoloring to a brownish pink tone.
iPhone 3G models in the same color aren’t affected by the same problem, nor do black iPhone 3GS models appear to suffer the issue at this stage — though these last owners aren’t completely exempt from the root causes. A number of reports have surfaced that some phones are getting particularly hot under certain circumstances, such as using the handset while it’s connected to a power source.
Over on The Inquirer, the current report is that the overheating may be due to faulty battery cells whereas Aaron Vronko of Rapid Repair has stated that “overheating is likely an issue due to faulty battery cells” and could result in “massive recalls of iPhone 3G S units.”
Finally, Wired’s Charlie Sorrell has chimed in that the problem may not be limited to the iPhone 3GS hardware itself but could be applicable to Apple’s recently-released iPhone OS 3.0 firmware update for the iPhone and iPod touch handsets.
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