With the explosive release of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X in the recent days gone by, cases of bursting phones have turned up already in a new rising trend that seems all but too reminiscent of Samsung’s tragedy last year. This trend has taken a serious shot and has raised eye brows especially after bursting incidents of Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Recent reports of bursting of Apple iPhone 8 got viral on Twitter when a Taiwanese customer shared photos of a swollen screen of his newly purchased iPhone 8 plus on her twitter account. The matter was later raised by Chinese and Taiwanese media which reported that the owner of iPhone 8 plus Ms. Wu, placed her phone on charging using the proprietary cable and adapter. Minutes later, she found the front screen had gotten bulged. Afterwards, the phone was shipped back to Apple for analysis.
届いたiPhone8plus、開けたら既に膨らんでた pic.twitter.com/eX3XprSzqv
— まごころ (@Magokoro0511) September 24, 2017
Another report of a Japanese owner, who claims, his phone was shipped in almost the same state of a bulged screen panel as in the case of Ms. Wu.
Apple is presently investigating the reports and has not yet declared anything on the incidents. This issue is likely due to a faulty battery and has not gained much hype in social media as of now, as it has not posed a widespread safety concern to the customers yet and no battery explosion has been reported.
Similar incidents of phone battery explosions and screen-bulging occurred in September 2016 when Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exploded in various parts of the world due to a battery issue due to manufacturing malpractice.
The explosions were large enough to cause physical and monetary loss to the customers. Later, Samsung Note 7 production was suspended with around $18 billion being wiped off the value of the company, according to Thomson Reuter’s data.
Experts revealed that the major cause of bulging and explosion of lithium ion batteries is a puncture in the battery which might occur when the phone is dropped. Any crack or puncture in the cell can produce internal shot circuit leading to swelling and potential explosions.
Moreover another possible cause of battery disorder is thermal runaway. This happens when a reaction occurs due to excessive heat and it leads to fire or battery dysfunctionality.
Generally, the warning sign of battery failure is a hissing sound while the battery overheats. This is where personal safety must be ensured. All the smartphone companies including Apple insist on using proprietary chargers and cables for their devices.
To Apple’s good luck, so far two cases of this kind have been reported. This does not indicate a trend, but if these incidents continue to increase in number and get into public attention in the few upcoming days, Apple might be looking at a big risk and an even bigger fallout.