14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone 8 Plus is indeed shipping with swollen batteries, but at least they’re not catching fire as other iPhone models do these days.
Here’s a case coming from Menifee, California where the iPhone 6 burst into flames when in use, causing some minor burns to his owner.
Jeff Nelson says he was talking on the iPhone when the whole incident took place, as he was inside his backhoe taking a break. Even though the phone was placed to the man’s ear, so you’d expect the overheating to be the first thing to notice, Nelson explains that he actually observed the smell or something burning.
Even though he originally believed that it was nothing serious, probably just the engine of the backhoe, he discovered that the device was getting increasingly hot in his hand.
“There I was just using my phone and it blew up,” he was quoted as saying. “All of a sudden the top of my ear got real hot and I heard a 'psst' and this phone, I pulled it away from my ear and the phone started smoking.”
Apple is investigating
Fortunately, no serious injuries were caused, though Nelson says that he did suffer some minor burns to his hand. There’s no word on whether the iPhone was charging when the whole thing took place or whether the man used a third-party charger or cable with the device.
As with everything that involves a fire, parent company Apple says it is investigating the incident to determine the actual cause of the iPhone bursting into flames. Most likely, this means the firm will look into the matter and never circle back to share more information, as it typically happens when Apple devices are involved in such blunders.
For what it’s worth, this isn’t the first iPhone that catches fire, but there’s still no sign of a widespread issue so far. As for the iPhone 8 Plus shipping with swollen batteries, Apple is investigating that one too.