Every time Apple releases a new iPhone model, it’s only a matter of time before the reports of problems start rolling out, and now we have a really serious allegation. At least two people are claiming that their iPhone 8 Plus split open. Can I be the first to call this Splitgate?
Anyone who’s been following problems with past iPhone models probably remembers Bendgate, Hissgate or any of the other problems that had the suffix -gate attached to the end, Watergate-style. So if some users really have found that their iPhone 8 Plus split open, then “Splitgate” is an apt name. Both of those who reported the problem are in Asia.
Citing Taiwanese and Chinese media, The Next Web reports that the first person who said her iPhone 8 Plus split open is a Ms. Wu, who said she bought a gold iPhone 8 Plus from her mobile carrier. She claims that just days later while she was charging it, her iPhone 8 Plus split open. According to the report from Taiwanese-language media, she said she was using the original charger that came with the phone. She returned the phone to her mobile carrier, which then sent it to Apple so that it can determine exactly what happened.
9to5 Mac adds that some media reports describe this incident as an “explosion,” although the pictures do not indicate that there was an explosion or fire. There are no burn marks, and in situations when mobile phones actually have exploded or caught fire, other things around them caught fire, like the carpet or curtains.
The other person who said their iPhone 8 Plus split open is a Japanese man who tweeted that his iPhone 8 Plus simply arrived in that state. The screen was separated from the phone’s body inside the box, he said.
届いたiPhone8plus、開けたら既に膨らんでた pic.twitter.com/eX3XprSzqv
— マゴコロ (@Magokoro0511) September 24, 2017
At this point, according to The Next Web, most are generally blaming battery problems for the issue. The tech blog states that there are some “unconfirmed reports” that the battery inside the iPhone 8 Plus is made by the same manufacturer that made the batteries that were inside the notorious Galaxy Note 7.
It’s important to realize that some of the details in these stories are unclear, and it seems a bit strange to suggest that a battery problem could cause an unused phone to split open inside the box. And just because two people say that their iPhone 8 Plus split open, it doesn’t mean that this will become an epidemic, or even Splitgate, for that matter. However, if anyone else does report this same problem, it will probably make the news again. After all, Bendgate was still being talked about with the iPhone 7 even though the problem originated in the iPhone 6 Plus.
