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from the maybe-there-is-a-worm-inside dept.
Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
Reports are coming out that at least 6 iPhone 8 Plus batteries grew too big for their britches.
There have been at least six separate reports of iPhone 8 Plus batteries swelling to the point of splitting open their enclosures since the phones first went on sale on Sept. 22.
Stories at MacRumors, The Next Web and 9to5mac as early as last week cited social media postings showing what appeared to be separate incidents in Japan and Taiwan where the phones had split apart because of expanding batteries.
More recently, The Guardian has reported on additional incidents in Greece, Canada and China. Taken together, it adds up to at least six cases exhibiting nearly identical symptoms.
An Apple spokesperson said the company was aware of the reports, and looking into them.
Doesn't seem like it's as bad as Samsung's issues with Note 7 batteries - but the iPhone 8 is still relatively new, so I wouldn't go selling your AAPL stock right away.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-8-plus-battery-swelling/
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @08:59PM (7 children)
Swelling battery is one of the more common failure modes for li-ion batteries, and a fire hazard. A device with a sealed battery that swells means it's kaput.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Thursday October 12 2017, @09:56PM (6 children)
Does anyone here know what causes them to swell? I had two (primary and spare) replaceable batteries swell to almost double their thickness recently -- at the same time. I think it was exposure to heat or cold, but I don't know which and would like to avoid this damage in the future.
(Ahhh, the perils of camping!)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 12 2017, @10:06PM
Chemistry goes wrong and a gas builds up blowing up the enclosure, just like the trouble B787 had.
No, I don't know how/why. Hope some chemistry/material science people can enlighten us.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Thursday October 12 2017, @11:26PM (4 children)
And a phone design with replaceable batteries minimizes the damage when this happens: the back just pops off. Phones should be required to have user-replaceable batteries for this reason alone.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Justin Case on Thursday October 12 2017, @11:29PM (2 children)
I agree, why is why *I* required that when buying my phone. Fortunately, I am now out only the price of two batteries, not a whole phone plus the hassle of reinstalling everything.
Why others don't do the same, I cannot understand. But then, it seems to me that millions of people do stupid self-destructive things for no apparent reason. Sigh.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Saturday October 14 2017, @12:37AM (1 child)
People do those sorts of things because they're dumb sheep, and like to follow the herd. All their friends have iPhones, because they're hyped up with marketing, so they have to get one too. My girlfriend ran into this; she thinks iPhones are stupid too, but a bunch of her friends have them. But it's not enough to just have one and be happy; no, these "friends" had to actually *badger* her and complain about how she doesn't have an iPhone. To be fair, I don't think any of these friends are particularly close friends.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Saturday October 14 2017, @03:35PM
To which, naturally, she responded with a swift boot to the face.
Right?
I mean, who the hell do they think they are telling her what to buy?
Of course I don't know your girlfriend, but generally it seems a lot of the problems women complain about are brought on by their efforts to gain the approval of other women, which is always one more hurdle away, and worthless if ever attained.
(Score: 4, Informative) by BasilBrush on Friday October 13 2017, @02:04AM
if it happens, you take the phone back to Apple and they'll replace the whole phone. Even out of warranty.
Hurrah! Quoting works now!