Back in March, while flying between Sydney and Beijing, a woman was quite badly burned after her headphones caught fire. The brand of headphones hasn’t been revealed, but since Apple has released a statement on the matter it seems more than likely that they’re Apple-manufactured.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2017/03/flight-safety-warning-issued-following-headphone-battery-fire/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/headphones1-410×231.jpg” title=”Flight Safety Warning Issued After Headphone Batteries Catch Fire” excerpt=”Battery-operated headphones worn by a passenger on a recent Bejing to Melbourne flight “likely caught on fire” according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, prompting a warning to be issued regarding the safety of batteries on board aircraft.”]
An Apple spokesperson says that, after an investigation, it found that the cause of the fire was ‘third party batteries’. Big surprise.
The woman in question, who wishes to remain anonymous, had sought compensation to replace her headphones and damaged clothing (but not her injuries). Following the statement she said that the AAA batteries inside the headphones were purchased in Australia, and that “nowhere on the headphones, or their packaging, does it specify which brand of batteries should be used.” She also expressed her disappointment in Apple’s decision.
I’m pretty sure Apple doesn’t make AAA batteries, so how someone can use anything but ‘third-party’ batteries is beyond me. Telling people not to use cheap knock-off phone chargers is one thing, but telling them they’re using the wrong batteries is plain ridiculous. Are we going to start seeing batteries with an ‘Apple Approved’ logo that cost twice as much as your average expensive battery?