One unit of the Samsung Galaxy S6 combusted in Greenville County, South Carolina, last Wednesday, according to local media reports. The phone burned through a bed sheet protector and the sheet itself, one Nakeshia Shannon claims, adding that the device belongs to her husband who purchased it two years ago and never experienced any issues with the handset. Regardless, the incident reportedly left a hole in her mattress and Shannon is currently in contact with representatives of the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer in an effort to make sense of the situation and presumably be compensated for the ordeal. The faulty device was already sent to the company that will further inspect the unit and determine what caused this particular Galaxy S6 to combust.
In a statement provided to WYFF News 4, Samsung representative Danielle Meister Cohen said that the firm is positive that the Galaxy S6 lineup is perfectly safe, adding that there are currently more than ten million devices from Samsung’s 2015 flagship family that are active in the United States and haven’t shown any signs of being a fire hazard. Regardless, according to Shannon, a company official told her that incidents like the one she experienced are possible due to “the way they are making the batteries.” While the U.S. division of Samsung Electronics already retrieved the device, Meister Cohen said that no further comments on the matter can be given until the company’s probe is completed. The spokeswoman also noted that a broad range of factors can lead to a smartphone malfunctioning in the manner that results in combustion, implying that the cause of the South Carolina incident might have been external.
Samsung made a lot of negative headlines in late 2016 following the company’s discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7 that was ordered after two unprecedented recalls of the device that proved to be prone to catching fire and exploding. While this latest incident is unlikely to help Samsung’s recent endeavors to advertise its newfound focus on product safety, it’s also improbable that the ordeal will impact the sales of the company’s recently released Galaxy S8 lineup that has reportedly been doing extremely well, both stateside and globally.