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Apple's Amsterdam Store Evacuated After iPad Battery Explodes (9to5mac.com)
Slashdot readers radi0man and DeBaas report of an exploding iPad battery in Apple's Amsterdam store. DeBaas writes: An exploding iPad led to the Amsterdam Apple store being evacuated, as reported by 9to5mac and local news in dutch. The store reopened after the fire brigade ventilated the store. 9to5Mac notes that this is the third evacuation this year of an Apple store due to an exploding battery -- the other two were from iPhones. The iPad and its punctured battery were put in a container of sand after it exploded. No major injuries were reported, however, "three employees who experienced trouble breathing were treated by first responders," reports 9to5Mac.
For some reason my quote didn't appear.
As always, don’t attempt to replace a swollen battery. Head in to an Apple store or nearest authorized Apple service provider as soon as possible.
still getting nearly all the mobile profits.
Only if you don't count the money that flows through all the levels of the Android manufacturing, distribution and aftermarket chain. When you do that, the Android economy dwarfs Apple. And you can say, the Android economy is far more beneficial to the world in general because the money gets spread around a lot more instead of being hogged by one successful (for now) monopolist. Lots of people making lots of money off Android, impossible to deny it, unless of course you happen to be an Apple apologist.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
This is technically your fault but the knowledge of how to keep a battery stored really matters and isn't very common knowledge. Any device with a lithium-ion battery of any kind should not be left on the charger for extended periods, like days or more. If you plan on not using the device, unplug and turn it off. The protection chip on the battery will prevent overcharging but it's a precarious situation that might cause overheating, swelling and explosions potentially the longer it's left charging. Citation and more details: https://batteryuniversity.com/...
Right, and that is the responsibility of the charging logic, not the user. Notice that the article did not say "must be cut off by the user".
And no I hate Apple as much as the next guy but battery safety, especially when technology that's known to swell/explode/flame when mishandled is more important than a grudge. Please keep blame where it needs to reside.
Yes, lets. I there are issues with charge cut-off then the blame belongs with the charging logic. It's not like this is a $5 charger from Radio Shack, it has its own full blown computer. It's supposed to know how to do this right. Everybody knows that li-ion batteries can be dangerous. Gasoline is far more dangerous. How often does somebody blow themselves up pumping gas these days?
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Apple knows this and has built its charging circuits with this in mind. When you plug in a Mac or iOS device, it will charge until full, then charging stops. Then, as long as the device is plugged in, it runs on mains power. When the battery self-discharges to 95% (after a few days), charging starts again. This means the device can be left plugged in indefinitely.
This has been common knowledge among device makers for a decade or more. Every laptop uses a variation on this scheme (and has to, because lots of laptops live their life being plugged in 95% of the time).