Facing pressure from European investigators, Apple has now opened an investigation into reports of exploding iPhone 3GS and iPhone Touch models.
In the reported "isolated" incidents recently, two reports of exploding iPhone 3GS in France and one confirmed iPod Touch issue in the United Kingdom, according to the European Commission. In one case in France, a teenage boy noticed his phone overheated, hissed and shattered, which sent small shards of glasses into his eyes.
Apple seemed uninterested in launching an investigation until the European Commission opened an investigation, despite reports of isolated overheating and exploding issues.
"Apple have come back to us ... and what they've said to us is that they consider these are isolated incidents," Apple told the Commission. "They don't consider that there's a general problem. They're trying to get more information on the specific details of those incidents (reported in the media) and they will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause."
I'm interested to see if Apple will begin to change batteries or other hardware, as it would be an expensive, lengthy process that would cost the company millions. Apple Europe will not comment until it has received the defective models and is able to properly inspect the faulty units.
Apple has had issues with burning products in the past, but shrugged away talks of serious burn risk with the iPhone 3GS. After launching in early July in the U.S., several reports of overheating phones began to surface, but Apple simply posted a warning page telling owners how and where to operate their phones.
Have you experienced any overheating problems with your iPhone or iPod Touch products?
