A different kind of Samsung phone exploded in France, user says

A Samsung phone user in France says her Galaxy J5 smartphone caught fire and exploded Sunday. The model is different from the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that has been recalled worldwide.

Lamya Bouyirdane said Monday that she noticed the phone was very hot after she asked her 4-year-old son to pass it over during a family gathering at her home. She said she threw the phone away when she realized that it had “swollen up” and smoke was coming out.

“I panicked when I saw the smoke and I had the reflex to throw it away,” said Bouyirdane, a mother of three in the southwestern French city of Pau.

The phone then caught fire and the back blew off, she said. Her partner quickly extinguished it.

Bouyirdane said she bought the phone new in June on a website offering discounts.

The South Korean company recently recalled millions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones globally because of a problem that caused the batteries to overheat and catch fire.

William Stofega, a mobile analyst for the market research firm IDC, said the incident in France was most likely an isolated one: The phone has been on the market for several months, and he said this is the first report of a battery fire that he’s aware of.

“These reports tend to cluster,” he said.

Stofega added that problems involving lithium-ion batteries used in not just smartphones, but also laptop computers, have been around for years and there’s no easy fix for them. Manufacturing defects or even a small amount of damage can cause a short circuit, resulting in an overheated battery and potentially a fire.

Samsung did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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