The charred remains of Jackie Liang's iPhone 6sPlus after it exploded while being charged as he slept overnight. Photo / Supplied
The charred remains of Jackie Liang's iPhone 6sPlus after it exploded while being charged as he slept overnight. Photo / Supplied
An iPhone owner says his 6sPlus phone began smoking before exploding as he and his baby lay just centimetres away.
Jackie Liang says the incident frightened him so much that he thinks other owners of the iPhone model should be aware and urges them not to charge it at night.
Liang said he had his phone charging and sitting on a sidetable next to his bed when he was woken by a pungent, smoky, chemical smell about 4am today.
"I smelt like a very strong burning smell and I jumped out of bed and was just checking what happened and I saw the phone is smoking. And then after about 20 seconds there's a fire and then it explodes."
Liang, of Mission Bay, Auckland, said it wasn't a big or loud explosion more like the sound of a battery exploding.
He grabbed the phone and dropped it into some water before putting it into a metal container.
The 28-year-old said he called Apple this morning who told him they would investigate the incident as a matter of urgency.
"The engineer was taking it very seriously and treating it as a priority." Liang said he bought two of the phones at the same time about six months ago from Apple NZ online.
He said he was told by Apple that while there had not been any reports of the iPhone 6sPlus exploding in New Zealand, there had been in other parts of the world.
"It was really scary because I was sleeping with my little baby so when the smoke is everywhere it filled up the room very quick. There was strong chemical smell and it makes me really sick."
It's not the first time an iPhone has exploded. ABC reported earlier today that a student's iPhone 6 Plus exploded while in his back pocket, burning a hole in his jeans.
The remains of Jackie Liang's iPhone 6sPlus after it exploded while being charged overnight. Photo / Supplied
Darin Hlavaty, a student at Rowan College at Burlington County, was treated for burns.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong last year, an iPhone 6 Plus exploded while being charged as the female owner slept, Apple Daily reported.
The woman plugged the charger to the unit about 1am and about 8am was woken by a huge bang and saw the handset on fire.
Liang said Apple staff told him not to take his child back into the room for about three or four days to allow the chemicals to dissipate.
He said he just wanted other iPhone 6sPlus owners to be aware of the potential hazard if possible, to charge the phone during the day so they could keep an eye on it.
