A Samsung Galaxy S10 5G owner claims that his phone exploded for no reason at all.
After looking into it, the South Korean brand says it was caused by an "external impact" rather than an internal malfunction.
Galaxy S10 Explosion
As the AFP reported (via The Economic Times of India), the Galaxy S10 5G user, who is identified only by his surname Lee, says that his smartphone exploded "without reasons."
"My phone was on the table when it started smelling burnt and smoke soon engulfed the phone ... I had to drop it to the ground when I touched it because it was so hot," Lee told the AFP.
Images of the aftermath provided to the news outlet show the device with severe burn marks and its glass cracked on both the front and back.
Lee said that Samsung refused to reimburse him for the smartphone, which costs 1.39 million won or roughly $1,226. After reports of this refusal made the rounds online, the company explained the reason behind the decision.
"After retrieving the device from the customer, Samsung has closely inspected the device and concluded that the damage was caused by external impact," Samsung said in a statement (via CNET).
For those who don't know, the company rolled out the Galaxy S10 5G in South Korea, its home country, on April 5. The device is expected to launch with a $1,300 starting price for the 256 GB model on May 16 in the United States via Verizon, who inked a timed-exclusivity deal with the phone manufacturer for the first few months in the market.
History Repeating?
This isn't the first time that Samsung has had to deal with one of its devices blowing up. Back in 2016, it had to do a lot of damage control after Galaxy Note 7 units started catching fire left and right. Eventually, it was forced to do a massive recall across the globe, rebranding the smartphone as the Galaxy Note FE or Fan Edition.
Another problem that Samsung is facing is the Galaxy Fold breaking in the hands of reviewers, leading to a recall and a delayed launch. Also, a teardown of the foldable phone then went up online and highlighted its "overwhelming fragility," which the company then asked to be taken down.
In other words, the smartphone maker already has its hands full with the Galaxy Fold, and if Galaxy S10 5G units start exploding in the wild, then it's in for some tough times ahead.
