A man from Florida claims that his Apple AirPods started smoking and eventually exploded while he was working out, an incident that Apple is now currently investigating.
This appears to be the first recorded case of an Apple AirPods explosion, though there have been previous reports on Apple devices catching fire.
Apple AirPods Explode In Florida Gym
Jason Colon, from Tampa, claims that while working out in a gym, one of his Apple AirPods starting billowing out white smoke. He left the wireless earbuds on top of some equipment and went to get help.
When Colon got back, he was shocked at what he saw. The AirPod that started to release smoke was already popped open and blackened, likely due to an explosion.
"I didn't see it happen, but I mean, it was already fried! You can see flame damage," Colon said in an interview with WFLA.
Colon was thankful that he decided to remove the AirPods from his ears when he noticed that something was not right. He emerged from the incident without injuries, but things would have been much worse if he didn't notice or if he ignored the smoke coming from the AirPods. The damage that the explosion would have caused to his ear is unthinkable.
It is unclear what exactly happened, but the likely culprit is the battery of the AirPods. Apple has acknowledged the incident and has started investigating the matter.
Apple Devices On Fire, Literally
Apple said that iPhone X sales were on fire in the fourth quarter of 2017, but the flame surrounding the Apple AirPods was of the literal kind.
The exploded AirPods of Colon brought back memories of a similar incident that was reported in May 2017, when an Australian woman's Beats headphones exploded. Unfortunately, it happened while she was wearing the headphones, and while on a plane. The woman suffered burns to her face and hands, but Apple said that it will not provide any compensation because she switched out the batteries of the Beats headphones for ones made by a third party.
There have also been recent cases of Apple Stores being evacuated after iPhone battery explosions. The two incidents, which happened in succeeding days in January, involved an Apple Store in Zurich, Switzerland and in Valencia, Spain.
In all cases, the battery appears to be the cause, as either a third-party battery was used or the battery has suffered from wear and tear. The details surrounding Colon's case remain unknown, but given all these previous incidents, it can be assumed that the wireless earbuds exploded due to faulty or deteriorated batteries.
