Caught On Video, iPhone 6 Explodes In Las Vegas Store

Reports of iPhones exploding are nothing new. They have been around since the original, but very few instances of such events were ever caught on video. Recently, however, surveillance cameras in a Las Vegas store finally did record such an event as it was happening that shows the device simply bursting into flames for no apparent reason.

As Hot Hardware notes, batteries in smartphones can catch fire due to a number of reasons. These can include overheating batteries, tampering with batteries, when the iPhone is damaged, or when using parts that just don’t go well with the device. These are the reasons that Apple usually touts as to why they would only allow its own technicians to handle the smartphones.

In the case of the iPhone in a store in Las Vegas, apparently, the device was brought in for a screen replacement. The screen had apparently already cracked because of the battery, which supposedly expanded due to heat. This in itself was already a disaster waiting to happen. It’s only fortunate that it didn’t occur in the customer’s house or worse, their pockets.

The video basically sees an employee jumping away from the flaming iPhone 6, which a few moments before was simply sitting on the desk. The explosion wasn’t large enough to cause substantial damage to the store, but it would have been enough to hurt the employee.

The store’s name has not been identified as of writing, but it’s clearly not an Apple store. Based on the footage, it would appear to be a third-party establishment that perhaps offers technical services for smartphones. Generally speaking, only stores that are officially affiliated with Apple or Apple Stores should be allowed to do repairs or replacements of iPhone parts.

Fortunately, no one was injured because of the incident and Apple has so far refused to provide a comment on the issue.