An Apple Watch Series 7 owner says their wearable overheated, began smoking, and finally, exploded. Apple is aware of the issue and will investigate as to the cause of the overheating. The user says the Cupertino firm urged him to stay silent about the incident,
However, in a conversation with 9to5Mac, the Apple Watch told the following story:
That he was wearing it when he noticed that it was getting much hotter than usual. He then found that the back of the Apple Watch had cracked and watchOS was showing a warning about needing to shut down due to its temperature. For further context, this user was in their house where the temperature was just over 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
After this, the Apple Watch user said that he immediately called Apple Support to explain the situation. The call was escalated through multiple levels of Apple’s support hierarchy, ultimately landing in the hands of a manager who created a case for further investigation. There was no solution or advice provided after this call, just instructions to not touch the watch until he heard back from the company.
The following morning, however, the situation escalated even further. The Apple Watch user woke up to find the Apple Watch even hotter to the touch and the heat had shattered the device’s display.
When the user picked up the Apple Watch to take pictures to send to Apple, it started to immediately make “crackling sounds.” It then “exploded” just as he was throwing it out the window. The watch left burn marks on the user’s couch. He also ended up visiting the emergency room because of lead poisoning concerns, but it’s important to remember the Apple Watch does not actually contain nearly enough lead to actually cause poisoning. He was simply concerned about it.
When the user reached out to Apple for an update on the situation, they were told that the issue was a “top priority,” and that they would receive an update by the following Monday. However, the user did not hear back until yesterday.
Apple has scheduled a pickup to take the Watch to its labs for further testing. The Cupertino firm also sent them a document, asking them to sign it and agree not to share the story with anyone. He declined to sign the document, and instead reached out to 9to5Mac.
Videos of the situation can be viewed below. Caution: contains graphic language.