Apple has launched an investigation on two cases of the iPhone 8 Plus cracking open along the sides.
The incidents have been initially blamed on a swelling battery for the smartphone, raising concerns that Apple is headed for its own version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall.
iPhone 8 Plus Cracked Open Cases
There have so far been two reports of iPhone 8 Plus units that have cracked open. Interestingly, both are from Asia.
The first incident is from Taiwan. A woman was charging her iPhone 8 Plus, which was only five days old, using the cable and adaptor that the smartphone came with. After three minutes, she said that the front panel of the device started bulging and eventually separated from the back panel, splitting open the iPhone 8 Plus. The smartphone has since been replaced by the carrier, which has sent it back to Apple for analysis.
The second incident, meanwhile, is from Japan, but it did not involve the device being plugged in for charging. According to a customer, he found his iPhone 8 Plus cracked open in a similar fashion as the case from Taiwan as he was unboxing it.
Apple Investigation Underway
Apple has launched an investigation into the two incidents, as confirmed by a company representative to Mashable. However, as the results of the analysis remain pending, theories on the cause of the incidents have centered on the iPhone 8 Plus battery. This is supported by unconfirmed reports that the battery manufacturer for the iPhone 8 Plus is Amperex Technology, which also supplied batteries to the Galaxy Note 7.
Another theory is that the iPhone 8 Plus units cracked open due to heat, which may have affected the glue and screws that keep the smartphone's panels together.
However, it is important to note that the issue is not widespread and currently isolated to two cases. Manufacturing flaws have always been present in electronic devices, and there were even a few incidents of exploding iPhones.
In addition, with the incidents happening on the other side of the world, many details remain hazy. Most importantly, though, there have been no incidents of explosions that may have injured people.
The point is, it is very early to say that the cracked open iPhone 8 Plus units will eventually spiral into a massive fiasco similar to what Samsung went through with the exploding Galaxy Note 7. With the incidents seemingly isolated to two cases, it is even more unlikely that the problem will escalate to a bigger one.
