Apple blames exploding Beats headset on AAA batteries

Apple is refusing to compensate a woman whose Beats headphones exploded in her face, claiming the batteries were at fault.

Earlier this year, the anonymous woman says she was asleep on a flight from Beijing to Melbourne when she was awakened by an explosion and heat searing her face. The sparking headphones burned her face and neck, and half-melted to the floor where she threw them before flight attendants managed to douse them in water.

The Australian news site news.com.au reports that Apple — who bought Beats for $3 billion in 2014 — blames the batteries in the headset: “Our investigation indicated the issue was caused by a third-party battery.”

There are still a few Beats variations that require AAA batteries — such as the noise-cancelling Beats Studio headphones, which have since been discontinued. The brand of battery in the woman’s Beats isn’t specified.

At the time of the incident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau concluded the batteries were the most likely culprit and warned passengers that “batteries should be kept in an approved stowage, unless in use.”

via The Verge