If you’ve ever dropped your iPhone or taken it for a dip in the swimming pool, then you know the pains of having your favorite electronic device murdered in front of your eyes. You also know the pains of the repair bill in your attempts to bring your iPhone back to life.
SquareTrade released a new study today that shows damaged iPhones have cost Americans about $5.9 billion in repair bills since their introduction in 2007. The study also found that in the last 12 months alone, 30% of iPhone owners damaged their device.
SquareTrade based their study on a survey of more that 2,000 iPhone users, and combined the cost of repairs, replacements, and insurance deductibles for broken iPhones to reach the total cost. The study found that accidental damage is 10 times more common than loss or theft, and that younger consumers are the clumsiest with their iPhones.
Not everyone wants to rush out and get their iPhone fixed as soon as they break it though. SquareTrade found that 11% of iPhone owners surveyed are currently using a device that is cracked, and 6% have taped up their iPhone as a solution.
Source: SquareTrade
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
5 responses to “Americans Have Spent An Estimated $5.9 Billion Repairing Their Damaged iPhones”
That is a lot of cheddar folks, a lot. $5.9 Billion dollars worth.
2000 out of literally hundreds of thousands,if not millions of phones drawn from a sample made up of those that h ave their service is hardly a statistically sound study.
I love my iPhone4, but if 30% of owners have busted their phone in the last year, it just shows how fragile they are. At least with the new iPhone5, the glass plate on the back has been replaced with something more robust. That is 50% of the phone less likely to shatter. Maybe the proportion of phones that get damaged will drop too. I do worry about dropping mine.
Hmm. I’d say they should have used a really good case like Otterbox or LifeProof. I know myself and I always use a case because 1. I don’t like to be without my phone 2. I don’t want to pay twice for a phone because I’m clumsy.