A photograph of the charger – a blue model very different from Apple’s standard white models. Photo: www.dailynews.co.th

CHANTHABURI – In the latest case of exploding Apple hardware, a Thai man has died while talking on his charging iPhone. Authorities point out that the victim may have been using an unauthorised phone charger, which likely overheated.

The victim was a 28-year-old man from Chanthaburi province who was found dead in his room with severe burns across his chest and hand, reported Tech in Asia, citing Thailand media site Daily News.

The man was clutching an iPhone 4S at the time of death, and his body was discovered on November 25.

Local police found that the smartphone was still connected to a charger in a nearby power outlet, indicating that the victim had likely been talking on the phone while charging it at the same time.

Photographs taken of the charger show a blue model different from the standard white ones that Apple includes with every iPhone, suggesting that it was a cheaply made fake.

Authorities have yet to confirm the exact cause of death, but have speculated that the charger may have overheated and generated an electrical shock.

Non-authorised iPhone chargers are commonly sold throughout Asia for cheap prices, but usually are poorly insulated and produce sparks when placed into electrical outlets.

In July of this year, a Chinese woman from Xinjiang province was killed from an electric shock when she charged her iPhone with a non-Apple battery charger, and only a few days later, a man from Jilin province fell into a coma after he was electrocuted, also from charging his phone with a fake charger.