Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus Battery Explosion: What Really Happened
While Samsung is still trying to recover from the Galaxy Note 7 battery explosion, Apple’s recently iPhone series has joined the party. A Reddit user earlier this week reported a case of an allegedly exploded iPhone 7 Plus. Now, the question bordering Apple iPhone 7 users now is if they are safe. Well, you can’t blame them much, considering the price of the device. But what really happened?
Unlike the case of the exploding Galaxy Note 7, the iPhone 7 Plus in this case did not explode when it was connected to a charger (or even turned on). It seems most likely the explosion was due to some form of transportation mishap, affecting the battery within.
Posting details for a co-worker, “kroopthesnoop” said the iPhone had exploded in transit, and that it was in that condition when received. “Something happened between the factory and delivery,” the user said. If that is indeed the case, users of the latest iPhone devices across the world may just be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
The kind of battery used in the iPhone and other handsets are almost always safe, but can be incredibly dangerous – if they are punctured, they can easily explode or set ablaze, taking the rest of the phone with it. Bringing to bear, the dangers lithium-ion batteries.
A closer look at the damaged phone (below) shows it is dented and damaged beyond the kind of issues that would be caused by heat. The pictures do appear to be genuine – the phone looks real, and given that no damage to anything else was reported, there is little or no motive behind making them up.
But that also suggests that the new problems hitting the iPhone are not on the level of the exploding Note 7, which necessitated a global recall. Neither is it at par with iPhone’s Touch Disease that got the company a court case. No further problems with the iPhone 7 have yet been reported and it appears that the problem is likely to be isolated.
The Reddit user adds that an Apple executive contacted the alleged victim of the exploded iPhone 7 Plus. The executive is said to have promised that Apple would work with carrier AT&T to “expedite a replacement phone.”
Meanwhile, Apple hasn’t commented publicly and neither has UPS, but one or both companies will likely have to investigate the matter when the phone’s owner contacts Apple for a replacement.
