Galaxy S26 explodes in owner's pocket, causing severe burns to hands and body

Videos on X show the damage done

Videos of the man receiving medical attention and resting in a hospital bed now circulate the internet. The man suffered severe burns to his hands trying to remove the burning phone from his trousers and also burns on his lower body around his private parts (ouch!).



Judging by the photos, the point of failure seems to be the battery - it's completely incinerated and even melted part of the phone's back glass. Majid says the phone heated up quickly before catching fire, and burning pieces lit some of Majid's clothes on fire as well, for good measure.

The battery is the potential culprit

Some of you might remember the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Samsung had to permanently discontinue the phone and recall roughly 2.5 million phones after manufacturing defects in the lithium-ion batteries caused numerous devices to overheat, catch fire, and explode.

Lithium-ion batteries are susceptible to a process called thermal runaway, and a simple internal short circuit, physical damage, or extreme heat could trigger it. It's basically a cascade release of the battery's energy in the form of heat, and it is very difficult to control.

In the case of this current Galaxy S26 explosion, the culprit is almost certainly the battery. It's not clear whether the explosion was caused by mishanding the phone, excesive heat or just a manufacturing defect.

Majid has lodged a complaint about this with Samsung India. No official statement from Samsung has been released as of this writing.

Three other Galaxy phones caught fire this year

The incident in India is the fourth this year, involving a Galaxy phone catching fire. Back in January a Galaxy S25 Plus caught fire and exploded while charging, although the investigation found that the thermal runaway was caused by "external force."

Back in May, a Galaxy S24 user in South Korea reported that their phone exploded while browsing the web, resulting in burn blisters.

The last case is also from May this year. A Canadian Galaxy S25 FE owner reported their device catching fire while charging overnight on the USB-C cable included in the retail box and a third-party 20W charger.

Even though four cases look like a lot, there's no reason to panic.

Should you be worried about your Galaxy phone?

The short answer is no. These accidents rarely happen nowadays, and even though we don't know the exact circumstances, sometimes external factors cause the battery to catch fire. Samsung has learned its lesson after the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and can't afford to repeat it.