White smoke billows from iPhone... High school students urgently evacuate classroom

Cheonan High School Student's iPhone Suddenly Emits White Smoke
Battery Appears to Have Ignited... Apple Replaces Same Model

An incident occurred where white smoke was emitted from an iPhone possessed by a high school student. The video capturing this event has become a hot topic, surpassing 10 million views.

According to Yonhap News on the 4th, the incident took place around 10 a.m. on the 30th of last month in a second-year classroom at a high school in Cheonan, Chungnam. At that time, the battery part of the iPhone 13 owned by student A (17) suddenly swelled up, emitting white smoke.

The smoke lasted for about two minutes before subsiding. Fortunately, the smoke did not spread into a fire. The school opened the classroom door for ventilation, and students were evacuated from the classroom. There were no casualties.

Smoke Emitted from iPhone
Photo by Yonhap News

Student A told the media, "The smartphone in my pocket suddenly became very hot and swelled up, and when I took it out, smoke was coming out from the gap of the iPhone." It was also reported that an unpleasant smell was coming from the phone at the time.

The video was filmed by A's friend and posted on social networking services (SNS) the day after the incident. Since then, the video has become a hot topic, with cumulative views exceeding 10 million as of the previous day.

Some netizens speculated that the white smoke was "a phenomenon that occurs when a lithium battery burns out." There were also warnings that inhaling too much of this smoke could be life-threatening.

Burned iPhone 13 Photo by Yonhap News

When a lithium-ion battery actually ignites, white smoke is generated, and this gas is hydrogen fluoride gas (etching gas). It is a gas produced when the anion of lithium salt dissolved in the liquid electrolyte inside the battery reacts with water, and if the concentration of this gas in the air exceeds 50%, it can be life-threatening.

According to student A, Apple Korea decided to exchange the device for a new one of the same model. The iPhone 13 was officially released in South Korea on October 8, 2021.