A user of the Samsung Galaxy J5 in France says her smartphone exploded after catching fire.
Galaxy J5 Explodes
This is a different Samsung smartphone model from the Galaxy Note 7 that has recently embarrassed the South Korean brand and has been recalled worldwide. According to the website wjtv.com, Lamya Bouyirdane, who resides in the southwestern French city of Pau, said that on Sunday she asked her four-year-old son to pass the smartphone over and noticed that the gadget was very hot.
When she realized the phone had "swollen up" and smoke was coming out, she threw the phone away. Right after, the phone caught fire and the back of the device blew off. The woman was lucky to be helped by her partner, who quickly extinguished the fire.
Bouyirdane, the owner of the affected Galaxy J5, claimed to have purchased the device this past June, from an internet retail store. She also stated that she is very concerned because her son was holding the device moments before it exploded. For this reason, Bouyirdane is decided to sue Samsung, according to Popular Mechanics.
Samsung launched Galaxy J5 2016 as a handset positioned in the mid-range mobile devices market. Reviews of the device were mostly positive, highlighting the fact that the Galaxy J5 is one of the sturdiest Samsung smartphones in this price range.
The device provides a solid build quality, thanks to the aluminum frame around plastic body. The metal frame comes with strong edges and with an exchangeable back cover.
The Galaxy J5 has nothing fancy about its aesthetics, featuring the same design as other Samsung mid-range handsets. Apart from shifting audio jack to bottom edge, the device's every port is placed in the same locations as on earlier Samsung mid-range models.
Another Samsung Scandal?
It seems that Samsung's exploding smartphone problem is far from over. Because of an issue that caused the batteries to overheat and catch fire, the company recently recalled millions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. And now, this appears to be the beginning of another big smartphone fiasco for the giant tech Samsung.
According to CNET, in a string of explosions that have plagued the South Korean company for months, this is the first reported case of a Galaxy J5 self-combusting. After customers started to report that the handset's batteries are catching fire, Samsung was forced to completely stop sales of Galaxy Note 7 devices. Due to injury risk, the high-tech company had to deal even with recalling Samsung washing machines.
After so many issues with its products, Samsung has some serious work to do in order to reassure consumers about the safety of its brand. At the moment, it is still unknown whether the Galaxy J5 explosion is limited to a single incident or it is a widespread issue. It also remains to be determined whether the explosion is due to a battery issue like in case of the Galaxy Note 7.
Samsung declined to comment. A company spokesperson has declared that no comments could be made on this specific incident until the device is examined. But if more complains about exploding Galaxy J5 devices are coming in, it's most likely that this model is next in line for a global recall.
