We all remember the horrific trend back in 2017, where scores of Galaxy Note 7 phones started to explode, right? It caused a massive lapse of trust with consumers, and it took years for Samsung to build its reputation back.
Well, it looks like another, much more modern phone could well be susceptible to this tendency. As reported by Android Authority, one South Korean Samsung user reported a pretty crazy incident.
The user took to Reddit to report the incident and also raise the alarm and warn others. They explained they were using their phone as any normal person would—to browse the internet. And then, all of a sudden, it rapidly expands, smoking, heating up, and then... an explosion. The bottom of the phone was entirely split because of it.
An image from the post shows that the phone was completely charred and blackened. The entire interior looks ruined.
Luckily, they weren't seriously hurt. However, the Samsung user had to go to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, minor burn blisters, as well as anxiety and insomnia following the incident.
And, even more strangely, the user claimed they had never had their phone repaired, nor was it charging at the time.
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The Explosive Samsung Incident Seems To Be Isolated
If you have some technical know-how, the symptoms described earlier seem pretty obvious. The expansion of the phone points to a critical fault in the battery.
And, in an update post on Reddit, the user went into a bit more detail. The user said that Samsung was handling the incident and that they had been contacted about how much money they would like. Samsung also stressed that the incident was isolated.
The user had a pretty candid response to the whole thing. "I hope companies take situations like this seriously before someone suffers a much more serious injury or a larger accident occurs. I simply hope for more honest communication and stronger quality control moving forward."
While lithium-ion battery explosions like this are pretty rare for tech these days, batteries can still expand and cause problems. It's important to be super careful with swollen batteries, as this can happen to any low-health battery if left long enough.
