Does the iPhone 8 have a battery problem?

It hasn’t even been two weeks after the release of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and new owners are reporting to be what looks like a serious battery malfunction.

Two reports claim that the iPhone 8 Plus, which was made available to the public on 22 September, began to split at the sides when charging.

According to Taiwanese media, a woman purchased a £799 64GB rose gold iPhone 8 Plus and had used it for five days before it had unexpectedly cracked open. Ms. Wu was charging her device with an Apple-issued charger; however, after approximately three minutes charging, the front panel swelled up and completely lifted from the device.

The phone was allegedly collected by the carrier and shipped to Apple, who according to the The Independent was investigating the two reports. Apple declined to comment further on the incident.

Another Japanese consumer reported having received his iPhone 8 Plus in a similar state, as it arrived in delivery with a partially detached screen.

If you’ve already purchased an iPhone 8 Plus or are interested in purchasing one, don’t feel the need to rethink your decision. The reports of faulty devices are mixed across Taiwanese and Chinese media. It’s likely that the two malfunctions are unique to their owners particular devices and not indicative of a trend for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus also had reports of exploding devices, yet millions of units were sold, functioning without issue – well, an exploding battery issue.

There are, however, ways to avoid and prevent failures, explosions or fires of any electronic device you may own, such as using the correct charger and avoiding direct sunlight, among others.