File photo - The new iPhone 7 smartphone is displayed inside an Apple Inc. store in Los Angeles, California, U.S., Sept. 16, 2016. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
Apple is no stranger to device launch issues, from the iPhone 4's death grip to iPhone 6 Plus Bendgate. Now it appears the iPhone 7 has not escaped without issue, as some users are reporting an odd hissing sound coming from their new smartphones.
Initially noticed by Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels, the smartphone appears to make a cicada-like sound. "My iPhone 7 Plus makes terrible noises when under load," Hackett wrote in a Saturday tweet, which links to a YouTube recording highlighting the hiss.
"As my iPhone 7 Plus was restoring from iCloud, I thought I noticed some sound," the video description said. "After picking the device up from my desk, it was clear the sounds are coming from [the] back of the phone, possibly from the CPU. It seems to get worse if the iPhone is under load, and can be heard while the phone is sitting on a table."
Others, including TechCrunch writer Darrell Etherington, corroborated Hackett's story.
"Not sure if [the noise] is by design or defect," Twitter user gadgetsnob wrote over the weekend, propagating the "Buzzgate" and "Hissgate" hashtags.
The issue may be related to the new quad-core A10 Fusion processor, which kicks in when your phone is trying to do a lot of heavy lifting. As 9to5Mac points out, the sound—similar to a laptop fan—seems to appear when the device is under stress, and radiates from the general direction of where the processor is housed.
It remains unclear how widespread the issue is. Apple did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment. The company's support center, however, suggested Hackett visit a retail store to swap the smartphone—the implication being, according to 9to5Mac, that the problem is, in fact, a defect.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
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