An Australian woman suffered burns on her face and hands when her Beats headphones exploded, but Apple says that it's not its fault.
According to Apple, the third-party batteries the woman purchased separately for her Beats headphones are to blame for the incident.
Apple Beats Headphones Exploded On Plane
Imagine you're on a plane, listening to something on your headphones and you fall asleep, only to wake up to your face burned by exploding headphones. That's what the woman in question went through with her Beats headphones.
As Adelaide Now reports, the unfortunate incident occurred back in February, when a pair of Beats headphones exploded. The woman was wearing the headphones on a plane and dozed off to sleep when she woke up "to the sound of an explosion and a burning sensation on her face."
The Beats headphones had caught fire and the woman got her face, hair and hands burned. The woman didn't try to get compensation for her injuries. Instead, she just sought to have Apple reimburse her headphones, as well as her ruined clothes that got burned in the incident.
Third-Party Batteries To Blame, Says Apple
Apple launched an investigation into the matter, but reportedly concluded that it doesn't have to issue any compensation because third-party batteries were to blame, not the headphones themselves. In other words, Apple said it's not its fault and will not reimburse anything.
"Our investigation indicated the issue was caused by a third-party battery," a company representative noted in a statement the woman's lawyers released on Friday, May 19, as cited by Adelaide Now.
The headphones were apparently an older model, which required AAA batteries to function. The woman told the publication that she bought the Beats headphones from a duty-free shop back in 2014, along with the AAA batteries needed to power them.
She explained that the headphones needed batteries to function and she didn't find any specifications anywhere as to whether she should use a special brand of batteries. She wanted the headphones reimbursed so she could buy new ones, and said she was disappointed that Apple shifted the blame onto third-party batteries.
It remains unclear which brand of batteries the woman used for her Beats headphones, as she did not specify. She did mention that she threw the headphones to the floor of the plane, where they kept sparkling until flight attendants came with a bucket of water and placed the headphones in the bucket. Both the batteries and the cover reportedly melted and stuck to the floor.
Beats Headphones Exploding On Plane Prompted ATSB Warning
After this exploding headphones incident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau issued a warning advising passengers to keep batteries in an approved stowage when they're not using them, pack extra batteries in their carry-on luggage and not their checked bag, and take other precautions when traveling with battery-powered electronics.
This incident may not be of the magnitude of the great Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco from last year, when a number Note 7 units exploded worldwide, but it still serves as a warning to be extra careful when using battery-powered devices.
