A man in Beijing named Ma recently had quite a scare in his home. An iPhone 3GS, which he purchased in 2009, spontaneously exploded while resting on his bedside table. According to him, he’s also an iPhone 4 owner, but recently took his old iPhone 3GS from out of a drawer because he wanted to use it for a second phone line. He charged the phone, as one would normally do, and BOOM, it just melted.
While there are no photos of the damage, Ma says everyone is OK. He doesn’t want any money from Apple, just an explanation as to why his device exploded. The iPhone 3GS in question has reportedly been taken to a local Apple seller, and they say that the explosion was due to a defective battery.
If you own an iPhone 3GS, should you be worried? We’re going to have to say no. What likely happened here, and it’s the same story over and over again, is that Ma used a third party Apple charger. Those cheap Chinese knock-offs are notorious for either supplying too much electricity or not knowing when to stop providing current, thus making the batteries swell, to the point where their contents leak out and cause a fiery blaze.
Not for nothing, but the same kind of things have happened to quite a few Samsung phones, so there’s no cause for concern about Apple’s quality control. Apple goes out of their way to make sure you get the best products on the planet, but they (obviously) can’t guarantee that a four year old battery is going to misbehave in such a spectacular manner.
[Via: Cult of Mac]