Damaged iPhones Cost Americans $5.9 Billion: Study

SquareTrade, a leading technology protection plan provider, released Tuesday a new study showing that damaged iPhones have cost Americans $5.9 billion since their introduction in 2007.

Based on a survey of more than 2,000 iPhone users, the results combined the cost of repairs, replacements and insurance deductibles for cracked, dropped, pummeled, kicked, and water-damaged iPhones. The study also found that in the last 12 months alone, 30% of iPhone users damaged their device.

As iPhones become an increasingly central part of our daily lives, accidental damage is 10 times more common than loss or theft. The study also shows that younger consumers are clumsiest with their iPhones: half of iPhone users under 35 have had an accident.

The top five iPhone accident scenarios according to the study are:

• Phone dropped from my hand
• Phone fell into a toilet, sink, hot tub, swimming pool, lake, etc.
• Phone dropped from a lap
• Phone knocked off a table
• Phone drenched by some liquid

“As smart phones continue to improve, they become more tightly integrated into our busy lives leaving them vulnerable to accidents around the clock,” commented Ty Shay, CMO at SquareTrade.

Click the infographic to enlarge it.

SquareTrade’s study indicates that due to the often-costly expenses associated with repairing damaged iPhones, many consumers often resort to “desperate” measures. For example, 11% of iPhone owners surveyed are currently using a device that is cracked and 6% have taped up their iPhone as a solution.

SquareTrade works with leading online and in-store retailers to offer warranties to protect consumer electronics products and appliances including smartphones, tablets, laptops, televisions, video game consoles and digital cameras.

The survey responses for SquareTrade’s 2012 Smartphone Accident Survey were collected through a leading panel provider, Survey Sampling International. Demographic quotas were used to collect a representative sample of smartphone users.