One day after Sony’s latest flagship, the Xperia Z4, went on sale in Japan, some users have begun complaining about overheating issues on the device. The Xperia Z4, of course, uses the powerful but much-maligned Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset.
In a spectacle that’s been going on for the better part of this year, the suspicion that the Snapdragon 810 SoC has some worrying issues regarding heat management is well known. Smartphones equipped with it, such as the HTC One M9 and LG G Flex 2 appear to either overheat or have its performance throttled significantly – though Xiaomi’s Mi Note Pro appears to have circumvented any heat-related issues with its various thermal patents applied only on that device.
Now, it looks like there’s another Snapdragon 810-equipped smartphone with a similar heat issue: Sony’s Xperia Z4. New owners in Japan are starting to complain that the device is overheating, and that performance of the new device appears to be throttled – an Antutu benchmark score of 45,000 isn’t really much to shout about for a premium smartphone.
Adding fuel to the fire is the Japanese carrier holding exclusive rights to distribute the device, NTT DoCoMo. One of the carrier’s outlets was spotted having a poster warning users about overheating issues on Snapdragon 810-equipped devices that it offers. The poster also adds some recommendations to keep any overheating issues in check – one of which involves the user to “reduce reliance” on a smartphone. Here are the recommendations, as translated on Android Authority:
- Periodically shut down the phone.
- Keep the phone off completely while charging.
- Regularly back up data on the phone.
- Reduce reliance on the phone by using a tablet or a PC when possible.
Xperiablog.net also managed to obtain screenshots of the working temperatures within the device, captured using CPU-Z. The numbers are rather worrying – the highest recorded temperature is a sizzling 67 degrees Celcius. That being said, the device itself will not reach 67 degrees Celcius – these readings are all on the internal hardware – but the heat transfer to the exterior will result in a much lower temperature to the touch.
With the Xperia Z4’s international availability (curiously branded as the Xperia Z3+) coming soon, this will be quite a headache for Sony if it is indeed the chipset that’s causing the issue – and another dent in Qualcomm’s previously inpenetrable armour. It also raises questions about its defence that the overheating issues were an attempt by a rival manufacturer to tarnish its reputation.
(Source: Android Authority, Xperiablog.net)
