Over the years, we have seen several cases of smartphones exploding and in a few cases caused harms to their owners. There have been reported cases of Samsung devices, iPhones, Xiaomi and a few others that have exploded with reports pointing to malfunctioned batteries. While this may be true to some extent, it is important to note that smartphones have been using lithium battery technology for years and still do today. Lithium-ion batteries were the first generation of batteries that powered smartphones and other gadgets but today, manufacturers now use lithium-polymer batteries which are much safer battery technology. In order to understand the problems with lithium batteries and how lithium-ion is different from lithium-polymer batteries, read this article.
The latest reports on smartphone explosion comes from a Vivo smartphone consignment that allegedly exploded causing pallets containing Vivo Y20 phones to catch fire while loading in a cargo plane at an airport in Hong Jong. The phones were loaded across three pallets, all of which caught fire, and it reportedly took the emergency services about 40 minutes to completely put out the fire. Luckily, the case happened on the ground and not on the plane and there were no casualties. Sources told local media that, while the airport’s operations were not affected, a 24 by 12-metre space on the tarmac was damaged.
According to the investigative results, the authorities have yet to give a firm answer on the reason for the fire. But the most likely (and plausible) theory is that one or more smartphones had a battery malfunction in the style of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The extent of the damage has not yet been determined, but there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of Vivo smartphones (all Y20s, apparently) destroyed. Not to mention that the fire-fighting operations may have damaged even those smartphones initially not subject to flames.
In addition to the damages, Hong Kong Air Cargo authorities have suspended live export of any smartphone citing that until the cause of the fire is safely certified they will not accept cargo from Cargo Link Logistics HK and Sky Pacific Logistics HK, with immediate effect and until further notice. This could slow down shipments to other parts of the world, however, Indian will not be affected as the company now has a manufacturing plant in the country.
Is Vivo Y20 Safe?
Vivo is one of the top players in the smartphone space and the company produces great products. Like other manufacturers in which we’ve seen similar cases, they all manufacturer excellent device. One defective phone does not make the brand a bad choice and other Vivo Y20 users need not worry about their phone exploding but should also use with care.
Vivo Y20 Key Specs
- Display: 6.51 inches IPS LCD
- Operating System: Android 10, Funtouch 10.5
- Memory: 3GB/64GB, 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 460
- Camera: Rear – 13 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP | Selfe – 8MP
- Battery: 5000 mAh
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