GoKawiilIf you've ever finished a long drive, only to find your phone too toasty to touch when you fish it out of its mount, you've probably wondered what you did wrong. An overheating phone can be a serious issue. At best, it can be rough on the phone's internal components, or even cause the adhesive holding the screen and backplate to come apart (ask me how I know). At worst, an overheated battery can begin to experience thermal runaway — when the battery can no longer safely dissipate heat, leading to a dangerous thermochemical reaction or even an explosion — a phenomenon you may know as battery swelling, aka the dreaded "spicy pillow."
The simple fact is that cars are enclosed spaces made of metal that are exposed to environmental heat while on the road. They get hot easily, and anytime your legs are sticking to the vinyl, your smartphone is likely to be equally unhappy. Understanding how smartphones generate and manage heat will guide you toward the best solutions. There are a number of steps you can take to mitigate the risk of overheating.
We can divide these preventative measures into two categories: internal and external. That is, some cool the phone from the outside, while others reduce the amount of heat generated internally by the phone itself. Some of these tips may amount to nothing more than common sense, but there are others you may not have considered. Here's what you need to know.