Brushing aside safety concerns, American tech giant Apple Inc. on Tuesday deflected the blame on "external" factors for causing a number of recent generation iPhones to explode in China.

In a statement issued to the AFP news agency, Apple said that these conclusions were based after it retrieved units for analysis and conducted thorough tests on the phones.

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"The units we've analysed so far have clearly shown that external physical damage happened to them which led to the thermal event," the statement said that was issued on late Tuesday. "We treat safety as a top priority and have found no cause for concern with these products."

The tech giant categorically denied that it was slow in responding to the concerns brought forth by Shanghai Consumer Council.

The state-owned consumer council claimed that over the past two months, complaints against Apple has increased sixfold, with many complaining about the abrupt shutdowns of the iPhone 6 and 6s despite enough power stored in the battery.

The council's report quoted one woman saying that her iPhone 6s Plus suddenly caught fire in August, leaving the screen shattered and the battery and the back of the phone blackened.  

The barrage of complaints against iPhone comes closely on the heels of Galaxy Note 7 safety fiasco, causing a major embarrassment for Samsung that had to eventually recall the product. The Galaxy Note fiasco had actually helped in bolstering sale of iPhones in China.

The respite in sales came at much needed time, as sales of iPhone units have been flat over the past three quarters. Owing to fierce competition from host local players, Apple is currently facing diminishing prospects in the world's largest smartphone market.     

Tagsapple, Apple China, iPhonee, Iphone China, china