[bilbo0s]

Well, I think it's more likely that the fact that it's a notebook will make this less of a PR issue. HN is kind of a unique place, but out in reality land the set of people who take their 15" notebook with them everywhere, including the airplane, is much smaller than the number of people who take their phones with them everywhere. So it's hard to capture the public imagination with a notebook.

Apple releasing a new phone is an event not only for a lot of developers, but also for your average teeny bopper and housewife.

Apple releasing a brand new laptop is just...

not.

[makomk]

Also, most people aren't going to grab a camera and start filming when their laptop catches fire in their house so they can post it to the internet. That limits the number of videos like this you'd expect compared to a similar smartphone fault, which is more likely to happen in public with other people standing around idle that might film it. I'd venture a guess that this is very far from being the first such fault in four years, especially given how willing Apple was to announce a recall.

[zaarn]

If your smartphone catches fire, in a lot of cases your camera just caught fire!

[tyingq]

Also, I don't keep my laptop in my front pocket, inches from my groin.

I suspect that was at least part of the emotional response in the Samsung incident.