Following Two Incidents, Apple Posts A Charger Advisory Note In China
by Joe White
July 25, 2013
Following two worrying incidents in China where charging iPhones reportedly electrocuted its users, Apple has posted an advisory note to its Chinese website, urging iDevice owners to use authorized chargers only.
As a reminder, 23-year-old Ma Ailun was the first to suffer injury from a charging iPhone, and the former air hostess sadly died following electrocution. Following this, another user, Wu Jian Tong, was "suddenly shocked" by his charging iDevice, and fell into a coma as a result of his injury.
The high prevalence of unauthorized, unregulated iDevice chargers in China resulted in numerous reports suggesting that chargers, rather than iPhones, were at fault (even though certain handsets have been known to behave in strange ways before, albeit for different reasons).
Apple's advisory note reminds its customer base in China to purchase only authorized chargers, and the company adds that it is "deeply saddened" by the recent events in the country:
Apple always puts the user’s safety first, so all of our products are subject to stringent safety and reliability testing, and are designed to meet government safety standards around the world, including the iPhone and iPad USB power adapters. This overview will help you identify genuine Apple USB power adapters. When you need to charge the iPhone or iPad, we recommend that you use the supplied USB power adapter and USB cable. These adapters and cables are also available separately from Apple and Apple Authorized Resellers.Hopefully this will help deter iDevice users from purchasing dangerous, unauthorized chargers in the future. See also: Apple Users Are Hit By Phishing Attack Thanks To Developer Site Shutdown, Op-Ed: CNBC Decides Now Is A Great Time To Criticize Steve Jobs For Apple's Recent Woes, and Overview: Drop The Bass With Algoriddim’s Djay 2.
