Australian Man Claims Flaming IPhone 7 Killed His Car, Pants

Australian Man Claims Flaming IPhone 7 Killed His Car, Pants

Apple users might feel insulated from the exploding batteries currently fueling Samsung’s Note 7 nightmare, but a new story of out of south Australia serves as a helpful reminder that true safety is just an illusion. On Thursday, surf instructor Mat Jones told Australia’s 7 News that an iPhone 7 he left in his car wrapped in a pair of pants caught on fire, taking both the pants and the car with it.

“As I looked into my car, you could not see inside the car, like all the windows were just black,” said Jones. “Ash was just coming from inside the pants which once you wrapped open the pants the phone was just melting inside of it.”

Australian Man Claims Flaming IPhone 7 Killed His Car, Pants
Screencap: 7 News

Screencap: 7 News

Of course, any lithium phone battery has the potential to explode if damaged, overheated or overcharged, but Jones claims he hasn’t used a third-party charger or dropped the iPhone since buying it last week. And while Jones was giving a surfing lesson when the fire began, he said he has “no doubt” the phone was the source of the fire.

Until we know more, it’s impossible to say if the fire was a symptom of bigger issue or just a cautionary tale about complacency. Either way, an Apple spokesperson told Gizmodo they are in touch with the customer and are looking into the issue.

[Yahoo 7]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.