phones but
160F is 71C so the the circuitry I was involved with could be guaranteed to work provided the internal temperature of the phone was not significantly higher than that 160F.I believe similar limits would apply to other parts of the phone.
However if the internal temperature had been raised significantly by any internal power dissipation then all bets are off.
CPUs are especially challenging as they can dissipate 5-10 Watts at extremes - there is no room for anything in the way of heat sinks or fans etc. The best they can do is to thermally couple them to the case.
The power amplifiers in the RF section are also significant heat generating items.
Your question has a multi-dimensional answer, it depends upon a host of other things including the recent usage of the phone.
A phone could be designed to guarantee operation at the temperatures you state but that phone would certainly cost more, be physically larger, heavier etc. The current specifications have been accepted as adequate by the majority of customers. Probably there do exist ones with extended environmental specs for specialized applications such as the military where that is more important than cost, weight, size etc.
If you want to improve the likelihood that your phone works when you need it - don't leave it lying in sun. Even in a hot car some places are cooler than others.
<...>I've also worked in some aspects of automobile design and there were multiple environmental zones defined - the cabin being the most benign.
Probably parts there are specified to 105C. Although it can get pretty toasty at the top of the dashboard.
The temperature is not uniform in the car and often electronics are placed in areas where they won't reach the high temperatures you mention
- in some of my cars for example the electronics were under the seats or behind the glovebox.
Modern cars are impressively reliable but they may not be guaranteed to operate over the full gamut of environmental conditions and usage. They just have meet the great majority of the customers' expectations.
The market decides. Price is a dominant factor in vehicle sales.
kw