If you've had to walk outside these past few days, chances are your first thought wasn't about the well-being of your iPhone. But perhaps it should be. According to Apple, you might be in the market for an iPhone repair service if you use it in temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Apple says that such conditions can cause the iPhone to “alter its behavior.” Of course, this past week it's been quite a bit colder than that, with temperatures reaching a record low -16 degrees F in Chicago and even warmer regions like Texas and Tennessee getting pelted by extreme cold. Apple warns against even storing your iPhone in temperatures below -4 degrees. If you do, you risk damaging the LCD screen which could put you in the market for an iPhone screen repair.
Another short-term consequence of using iPhones in frigid weather is decreased battery life. Tara Conry, a writer for Newsday.com, recently noted that her phone's battery plummeted from 50 percent to 10 percent in the span of just an hour during a freezing Long Island morning. In normal conditions, an iPhone's battery can last up to 10 hours.
So when you're bundling up for the polar vortex, perhaps you should bundle your iPhone as well.