14 DAY TRIAL // The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are both projected to land in South Korea as soon as November, but local authorities are already expressing their concerns towards the batteries that power the device.
Since the launch of the iPhone 8 in late September, there have been several reports of bad batteries on the iPhone 8 Plus, with customers in several big markets, including the United States, confirming units that shipped with swelling batteries which pushed the screen out of the frame.
The Korea Times reports that despite all these concerns of iPhone 8 units arriving with bad batteries on the local market, no tests can be conducted simply because of the limited supply.
“Despite concerns over the expanding batteries, we cannot carry out any safety test due to an insufficient supply ahead of the launch,” the newspaper cited an official of a telecom company as saying.
Local organizations planning tests
At the same time, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) says it indeed plans to run a series of tests on the iPhone 8, but according to the law, this is possible only after the device launches locally.
“The KATS is closely monitoring the expanding battery case. As we are banned from inspecting products that are not on the market, we need to wait until the iPhones hit shelves,” an agency official explained.
If the iPhone 8 experiences the same issues as on other markets, the government could request a recall, as local regulations state that companies need to voluntarily recall their models should they come across design and production defects that could physically harm users.
No injuries have been reported among iPhone 8 owners so far, but swelling batteries have the potential of causing substantially more damage if incidents occur when devices are plugged in.
Apple revealed it’s looking into reports of swelling batteries and Apple Korea says it’s yet to conduct its own safety checks for the iPhone 8, as everyone expects the results of the investigation.