Reports coming out of Taiwan and Japan are putting some pressure on Apple and iPhone 8. It seems that two iPhone 8 Plus shipping with defected or damaged batteries that ended up causing the devices to crack open.
According to cnBeta, a Taiwanese woman purchased the 64GB version of the iPhone 8 Plus and used the original cable and adaptor. After three minutes of putting it on a charge, she noticed the front panel bulge up. Apple is reportedly in possession of the device and is now looking into what went wrong.
For the other case, there was similar situation in Japan where a buyer said that iPhone 8 Plus was shipped to them with the screen detached.
届いたiPhone8plus、開けたら既に膨らんでた pic.twitter.com/eX3XprSzqv
— マゴコロ (@Magokoro0511) September 24, 2017
Looking at the pictures, it doesn’t seem like the batteries exploded, but rather swelled up. This swelling normally is a safety mechanism to help prevent the batteries from exploding and causing fires.
Right now, it’s unclear what caused the batteries to swell up. Accidents do happen, especially with batteries. This incident is especially important for Apple since the iPhone 8 units just released and already two reports are coming in, making it a big red flag for Apple.