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Apple

Apple investigating iPhone 7 that caught fire and blew up

By Michael Andronico Associate Editor Tom's Guide
Published | Updated
AppleiPhone7Plus

File photo - A Rose Gold iPhone 7 Plus with dual cameras is shown in Australia's flagship Apple store in Sydney, Sept. 16, 2016. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)

Just when the days of exploding phones seemed to be over, an iPhone 7 appears to have gone up in flames.

iPhone 7 Plus owner Brianna Olivas captured the dramatic incident on Feb. 22 in a Twitter video, which shows thick strands of smoke seeping out of the side of her rose gold handset. The video quickly blew up — no pun intended — as Twitter users all over tried to figure out the cause of the sudden explosion.

According to Mashable, Olivas was having issues getting her phone to turn on the day before the incident. After taking the device to the Sprint store where she bought it in January and getting some assistance, everything seemed to be back to normal.

But the next morning, Mashable reports, Olivas boyfriend noticed that the phone had exploded and was emitting tons of smoke from atop her dresser. In Olivias' disturbing aftermath photo, the iPhone's side panels appear burnt, bubbly and busted.

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Olivias turned her faulty phone over to Apple, who are currently investigating the situation.

According to Gizmodo, Olivas has only used the Apple charger that came included with her phone, and didn't have any issues with her iPhone 7 Plus until the day before the explosion.

"All of this has been causing me really bad anxiety," Olivas told Gizmodo.

This situation immediately brings to mind last year's Galaxy Note 7 debacle, in which Samsung's phone was ultimately recalled after multiple devices caught fire in the hands of users.

While this iPhone 7 incident seems like more of a one-off (Apple's phone has been out since September), it's not the only time Apple's handset has gotten too hot. Last October, an iPhone 7 reportedly caught fire in Austrailia and destroyed its owner's car, and may have exploded in transit in a separate September incident.

The big question that remains is what exactly caused Olivas' otherwise fine iPhone 7 to blow up. We'll be sure to keep you updated once we have an answer from Apple.