One of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPads exploded recently at a store in Australia, causing a fire and the evacuation of the store. Thankfully, however, no one was injured in the blast.
Vodafone store evacuated after iPad blast
The Daily Mail reports that an iPad Air “burst into flames” at a Vodafone store in Canberra, Australia about a week ago. A spokesperson for Vodafone told the newspaper that the flames came from the charging port of one of their brand new demo models. Firefighters descended on the store after it was filled with smoke and sparks kept flying from the iPad Air’s charging port.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reportedly sent a representative to the store to collect the device and test it to find out why it burst into flames. Vodafone reported that it was destroyed in the incident. Images of the tablet’s frame which were obtained by the Daily Mail suggested that extreme overheating may have caused the fire and explosion. The iPad Air is much thinner than its predecessors, so if it has overheating problems, then there will probably be more incidents like this one, or at least reports from users that the iPad Air is getting extremely hot. I did glance over Apple’s forums and didn’t notice any overheating reports about the iPad Air.
Other problems with Apple devices
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dealt with some other issues in China earlier this year when there were reports of someone being electrocuted by her iPhone 5. The user reportedly picked up the handset to use it while it was charging. At that time, Apple blamed it on cheap Chinese charger knock-offs. It will be interesting to see what the verdict is this time around. Since this incident was inside a reputable mobile carrier’s store, it’s highly unlikely that the charger was a cheap knockoff.
Apple has not yet released an official statement on exactly what happened.
There have also been a handful of other issues with Apple’s iPhones, although this may be the first serious issue involving an iPad.
