Apple has taken its time to respond to claims that iPhone 6, iPhone 6S and iPhone 5S battery issues have resulted in overheating of the phones and thus causing them to explode.
The fire and explosion reports come after it emerged that the Apple iPhone 6S had battery issues that were leading to sudden shutdown even when there is still enough juice in the battery. Apparently, Apple had already responded to about eight cases about iPhone 6 fires before the latest response.
According to The Wall Street Journal, a Consumer Council in Shanghai, China is behind some of these reports, but Apple has only admitted that indeed the iPhone 6S could be having some problems with the battery, but it further claims that not all units are affected. The Cupertino tech giant argues that iPhone 6S units manufactured between September and October 2015 are the only ones affected and in fact, it has already opened a program that offers fixes and replacement units.
If you are unsure whether your phone is suffering from this battery problem, Apple has also launched a serial number checking tool for doing just this, however, the tech company has refused to be linked with any cases of fire with respect to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S. Apple is adamant that all reported cases of iPhone fires are as a result of “external physical damage” and have nothing to do with a frying battery. Apple recommends visiting any of its physical stores or contacting the company support team in case of this problem.
About two months ago, reports started surfacing from China with claims that some iPhone units were catching fire, with the cited models being the latest iPhone 7 and 7 Plus alongside the 2014 iPhone 6 Plus. In fact, it was reported that one of the victims, who was using an iPhone 7 to record a video, suffered injuries to his face thanks to the glass that flew from the exploding phone’s screen.
These reports about the iPhone 7, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6 exploding started showing up after the same battery issues had seen Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 explode and catch fire on several occasions – events that led to the discontinuation of the flagship. It would be a huge blow for Apple if it were to go through the same recall and replacement process, especially when looking at the financial and brand/image side of things.