Apple Watch SE overheating cases reported in South Korea

The new Apple Watch SE has received multiple complaints of overheating and in a few cases even injuring users. — Apple

Apple’s latest wearable, the Apple Watch SE, has had a series of overheating cases, with some supposedly even injuring users.

In a Reddit post, South Korea-based user CozyPlanes recorded six local cases between Oct 10-19, where the device was damaged by overheating.

The cases involved the Apple Watch SE 40mm models, both GPS and cellular, and in different colours.

The Redditor noted that the overheating spot was the same in all cases, on the top right corner of the watch’s screen.

CozyPlanes speculated that based on the design of older Apple Watches which could be shared by the Watch SE, that location was above the display connectors, between the Taptic Engine and the digital crown, but far from the battery.

In four of the six cases, the users reported suddenly feeling the device heat up on their wrists, with two even saying their wrists had a red mark from the heat.

The two other cases occurred when the users were charging the device.

In photos shared with CozyPlanes, those injured by the watch had a red, round mark on their hand, similar to the back of the watch.

Several users managed to get their devices replaced by Apple, as the issue came up within days of them purchasing it.

One who claimed to have his wrist burned by the device said Apple’s offline centre would be giving a personal response in a few days.

So far, Apple has not made a statement about the issue, thus it is not known if it is a widespread problem affecting users internationally.

The Apple Watch SE was released in late September, alongside the 6th gen Watch, though no cases involving the latter had been reported.