Apple Investigating Video Of Exploding iPhone 7 Plus

Earlier this week a video began circulating on the internet of an iPhone 7 Plus experiencing its own Galaxy Note 7 moment: emitting a large amount of smoke as it partially explodes. The device belonged to Arizona-based Brianna Olivas, who shared video of the event on Twitter. Fortunately no one was injured, and the 18-year-old says it the phone was functioning normally up until the day before. Now Apple has stated that it is taking the malfunction seriously, and looking into what happened.

Along with the video, Olivas posted photos of her iPhone 7 Plus following the combustion, with the display separated from the aluminum chassis due to bulging where the battery is located, and the device's plastic case partially melted. The owner adds that she's only used the official Apple charger with the phone, and that when she took it to the Sprint store the day before because it wouldn't turn on properly, an employee ran a diagnostic test but couldn't find anything wrong.

The meltdown occurred the next morning, just after the phone was taken off the charger. Speaking to Mashable, Olivas explained what happened:

"I was asleep with my phone charging next to my head, my boyfriend grabbed the phone and put it on the dresser. He went to the restroom ... and from the corner of his eye he saw my phone steaming and [heard] a squealing noise. By the time he got over to the phone it had already caught fire, he quickly grabbed the phone and threw it in the restroom ... as soon as he threw [it] in the restroom, it blew up and more smoke started coming out of the phone."

The teenager ended up taking the damaged phone to an Apple Store, where employees replaced it for a brand new one. While they couldn't give her an exact cause of what happened, a company spokesperson has stated that Apple is "in touch with the customer and looking into it."

SOURCE Mashable