Apple is looking in to customer complaints that its new iPhone 8 is coming apart while on charge, according to The Independent.
Pictures posted to social media show the screens on the devices are springing out due to the battery expanding. It's reported that the problem is so far isolated to a few phones in Asia.
One of the first reports came from a woman named Ms Wu, who bought a 64GB rose gold iPhone 8 Plus and started to notice the smartphone bulging after just three minutes of charging. That report says the woman used the charging adaptor included in the packaging.
However, there are others claiming that the screen on their phone had popped off before it was even turned on.
The iPhone 8 mixed up its battery technology to allow for wireless charging, so that could be the reason behind the unexpected swelling. According to the Telegraph, lithium-ion batteries can expand due to 'an unexpected build-up of gases caused by chemical reactions'.
Some people are also drawing comparisons with the battery issues suffered by the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The electronics company had to permanently discontinue the device in October last year after reports the battery was causing Note 7's to overheat, combust or explode. That issue was caused by a design flaw which apparently made electrodes in the battery susceptible to bending, leading to short circuits.
The release of the iPhone 8 wasn't marked with the usual queues around the corner that we usually see with a new Apple product launch. There were much shorter lines at stores around the world, with some commentators noting that the 8 wasn't much of an upgrade from the 7 model.
Business Insider was provided with an 'Apple Insight' by KGI's Securities, which said: "While we acknowledge that queues outside SIM-free channels have been much shorter than after previous iPhone launches, we see stable first-weekend demand for the iPhone 8/8 Plus in carrier channels.
Credit: PA
"Most of those camping outside unlocked-device outlets are presumably hardcore Apple fans and heavy users, whose plan this year is to gear up for the iPhone X."
Further data from Localytics shows that on the opening weekend of the iPhone 8 the device only managed to grab 0.4 percent of the iOS market. Compare that to the iPhone 7, which had one percent when it was first released and the two percent that its predecessor, the iPhone 6, received.
While some people don't think the 8 is much of a product, Apple claims the speakers are 25 percent louder than the 7, has a better camera and the most durable glass for a smartphone.
But hopefully this expanding battery issue is isolated to only a few devices and isn't systemic.
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Sources: Independent, Business Insider, Gadgets
Topics: Phones and Gadgets, iPhone 8