If you fear that one day technology will turn on humans and try to destroy them, you’re going to want to keep a close eye on your iPhone after reading this: a man in Sydney, Australia suffered third-degree burns as a result of his iPhone exploding in his pocket.
36-year-old Gareth Clear had been mountain biking with his iPhone in his back pocket when he missed the pedal and took a fall. He picked himself up and was relatively unscathed by the incident. His iPhone seemed to take the brunt of the fall.
According to his account of what happened, provided to the Daily Mail, Clear noticed an “incredible plume” of smoke coming from behind him and felt a burning sensation from the pocket where he stored his smartphone, which he called “‘pretty freaking painful.”
When Clear looked at his leg, he found his biking shorts melting away and the iPhone seared to his skin. He managed to dislodge the phone from his body after first burning his fingers in trying to remove it. According to Clear, he heard the sound of an explosion when the phone fell to the ground.
The result of the phone’s sudden combustion left Clear in considerable pain. He lost three layers of skin and required a skin graft, and feared there may have been lithium from the exploded device posioning his blood stream.
Clear continues to ride his bike, but now does so without his iPhone with him. “Every iPhone is the same,” he explained to the Daily Mail. “If it happens to one, it will happen to another one.” He described the device as a “mini bomb” and “a tragedy waiting to happen.”
According to the Daily Mail, Apple has been in contact with Clear and is investigating the incident. The Daily Dot reached out to Apple for comment but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.
H/T Complex