Apple - One in four iPhone devices break within two years, mostly cracked touchscreens

[teleclick] One in four Apple iPhone devices break within two years, according to data from SquareTrade, and independent warranty provider that covers the device.

SquareTrade has insured upwards of 25,000 iPhones, 25.6% of which have failed within two years of being purchased. The majority of these incidents are accidental, however, often involving a cracked touchscreen. Only 7.5% of iPhones suffer from faulty hardware within the first two years.

Despite the inevitable occurrence of some failures, SquareTrade ultimately describes the iPhone as “one of the most reliable smartphones on the market.”

“We see the evidence that malfunction rates in the first year (excluding accidents) is much lower for the iPhone than for Blackberry and [Palm] Treo,” SquareTrade said in a statement. “The overall failure rate at 1 year – 17.6 percent - was lower than the 23 percent overall failure rate for BlackBerrys at 1 year.”

25.6% of iPhones Break Within Two Years