Samsung Note 7 smartphone has become one of the popular topics recently due to its various incidents of catching fire and explosion. New photos and videos of the burnt or exploded phones are posted and shared on social media and forums nearly every day. Yet, this one is rather unique.
https://www.facebook.com/sunnychenmagic/videos/1080342185374790/
Yisheng Chen, a magician from Taiwan, uploaded this video on his personal Facebook page claiming that a Note 7 could be used to barbeque. In his video, he first wrapped his Note 7 with foil paper with the camera app launched in the phone as it would increase heat production. He then placed a slice of raw beef on the phone and started the timer. After nearly a minute, part of the beef started to turn gray. He stopped the “experiment” after two minutes, saying that he would not want to risk any further more, and unwrapped the phone. Surprisingly, the phone was still working with no sign of burn mark shown in the video even though it kept producing smokes. He concluded that it is possible to barbeque with a Note 7, given that you are willing to risk your life.
http://hk.on.cc/tw/bkn/cnt/news/20160916/bkntw-20160916164503579-0916_04011_001.html
Some news media picked up the video and reported about it. In the above article from Oriental Daily, it simply described the video and quoted some of the comments by the netizens.
The “experiment” seems to be true as there is a direct evidence shown. However, the fact that Chen is a magician make the truthfulness of the video highly debatable. He posted many videos of him performing magic tricks on the same Facebook page, and thus it would not be surprising if this video is just another one despite not being described as one. Also, past incidents of Note 7 catching fire and exploding are mainly suspected to be battery overheating caused by charging overnight or being exposed to sunlight for a long period of time, which means that the battery has a design flaw which is likely to explode upon heated [1]. It does not mean that the Note 7 is easier to heat up than the other phones. Moreover, it is doubtful that the heat generated by a phone in merely two minutes is sufficient to cook.
The report on this video could be done better if the reporter could consult some experts in the field of electrical engineering like university professors or even repeat the experiment once again. Reporting the video directly is not fair to the smartphone manufacturer.
[1]: Here’s why Samsung Note 7 phones are catching fire. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/news/why-is-samsung-galaxy-note-7-exploding-overheating/