iPad Battery Almost Exploded In Amsterdam Apple Store
Although it may have tried to ignore its existence in a recent retrospective, the Galaxy Note 7 will forever remain Samsung's biggest mobile embarrassment. That's not to say, however, that it is the only one with a case of exploding devices. Even iPhones and iPads are not immune, though often less scandalous or less frequent. In one case in Amsterdam, it didn't even happen at all. It almost did but thanks to some quick thinking by Apple Store employees, an overheating iPad didn't become an incendiary incident.
The reports don't mention the exact reason, only that an iPad in an Apple Store at Leidseplein, Amsterdam started to dangerously overheat. Whatever the cause, it would have been a very dangerous situation given that all mobile devices carry a volatile lithium-ion battery. You know, the type that explodes or bursts into flame.
Normally, people would panic at that point, including store employees. But there may have been real geniuses (not Ingenius) at the store who first put the iPad inside a bin with sand to dissipate the heat. And then they evacuated the store for safe measure.
iCulture reports that there were three people who complained about respiratory problems, which emergency personnel confirmed to be Apple employees who may have inhaled vapors coming from the leaking battery. The situation was quickly put under control that AT5 reported the store was once again opened to the public by 3 p.m. local time.
Drie mensen onwel door geëxplodeerde iPad in Apple Store https://t.co/Jn3EkAtE6Y pic.twitter.com/35L7FE1Yi6
— AT5 (@AT5) August 19, 2018
This isn't Apple's first brush with battery problems, though it is certainly one of the rare few that actually ends well. Apple has recently come under fire, no pun intended, for throttling its older devices due to aging batteries. It eventually conceded with a toggle to turn the feature off as well as cheaper battery replacements but a recent rise of fire reports may prove Apple's initial strategy to be wise.