{"id":633586,"date":"2026-04-27T07:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/633586\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T07:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:13:12","slug":"viral-videos-show-samsung-phones-melting-plastic-but-theres-more-to-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/633586\/","title":{"rendered":"Viral videos show Samsung phones melting plastic, but there&#8217;s more to it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  title=\"Galaxy S26 Ultra cameras\"  alt=\"Galaxy S26 Ultra cameras\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Galaxy-S26-Ultra-cameras-scaled.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n<p>TL;DR<\/p>\n<p>Viral videos of Samsung phones melting plastic with their flashlights are doing the rounds, but this behavior has been known for a while.<br \/>\nTests show that Samsung devices like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Apple\u2019s iPhone 17 Pro Max can melt plastic under the same conditions.<br \/>\nThis happens because modern smartphones use powerful LED flashlights that can generate heat at close range.<\/p>\n<p>Viral videos showing Samsung phones melting plastic with their flashlights are blowing up on social media again. One TikTok clip alone (see below) has racked up over 13 million views, showing a Galaxy S25 FE torch burning through a thin black garbage bag.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/andauth.co\/AAGooglePreferredSource\" class=\"e_dm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768235233_196_google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768235234_247_google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While these videos might look alarming, Galaxy phone flashlights burning through plastic isn\u2019t a new discovery, and it\u2019s not even limited to Samsung\u2019s devices.<\/p>\n<p>People have been posting similar videos for over a year, but social media algorithms seem to have pushed the trend back into the spotlight recently.<\/p>\n<p>Folks over at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/viral-tiktok-shows-a-samsung-galaxy-s26-burning-through-a-trash-bag-we-put-it-to-the-test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tom\u2019s Guide<\/a> also picked up on the trend and decided to try it themselves using the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Their results show that both phones were able to melt a plastic trash bag when the flashlight was set to maximum brightness, unlike what some of these viral videos claim.<\/p>\n<p>The Galaxy phone did it slightly faster, but the iPhone still managed to burn a hole through the plastic. In other words, this isn\u2019t a Samsung problem; it\u2019s likely something most modern smartphone flashlights can replicate when left on for extended periods.<\/p>\n<p>While modern phones use very powerful LED flash modules for better photography, the added brightness can also lead to more heat when the light is concentrated in a small area. This can lead to the kind of burns shown in these viral clips.<\/p>\n<p>Samsung is already aware of this behavior, and its phones even display a warning when the flashlight is used at maximum brightness. However, in real life, it\u2019s easy to forget a flashlight is on or accidentally trigger it in your pocket.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"e_Wg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"Samsung Galaxy S26 flashlight warning\"  alt=\"Samsung Galaxy S26 flashlight warning\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Samsung-Galaxy-S26-flashlight-warning.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Adamya Sharma \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n<p>So while the viral videos certainly make the issue look more dramatic than it is, they are still a good reminder that your phone\u2019s flashlight is probably not something you want pressed up against a plastic bag or synthetic materials for long.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority TL;DR Viral videos of Samsung phones melting plastic with their flashlights are doing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[18378,64,63,203,1047,17382,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-633586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-apple-iphone","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-samsung","13":"tag-samsung-galaxy-s26","14":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}