Various aspects of the present disclosure include methods, components and wireless devices configured to determine appropriate generalized system-wide thermal management policies and settings in wireless devices depending upon whether communication activities are driving or otherwise causing thermal conditions. In various aspects, a processor may determine workload characteristics and select and apply an appropriate thermal management policy/solution (or thermal configuration, settings etc.) based on the determine workload characteristics. The processor may determine workload characteristics based upon data from two or more temperature sensors within the wireless device. The processor may select a generalized system-wide thermal management policy suitable for operating when communication activities (e.g., 5G communication activities) are generating so much heat that CPU-centric thermal management policies are in appropriate.