The top three most broken phones are the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 and Samsung A5, however iMend has seen a 15% year on year increase in the number of business owned Huawei phones being sent in for repairs.
The average business owned device only lasts 3 – 6 months before needing a new screen or rear housing and after 12-18 months devices require new batteries and/or replacement charging ports. Some businesses have to contend with particularly clumsy employees – the worst offenders can break their phones 3 times in a 12 month cycle!
iMend’s analysis also found that law firms break the highest number of devices, more than even construction workers, suggesting that an office desk contains more dangers for a smartphone than a construction site.
Top 5 industries which break the most work phones:
1. Lawyers
2. Insurance claim handlers
3. Food & drink retail and distribution
4. Mobile resellers
5. Construction
Due to the high cost of replacing damaged devices with new phones, businesses can save thousands of pounds per year by repairing broken work phones. An iPhone 6S’s screen can be replaced 8 times and still cost less than buying a new handset outright. The Samsung S7’s screen can be replaced 3.5 times for the same cost as a new device.
Sarah McConomy, General Manager iMend.com, added, “The office environment is a dangerous place for a mobile phone, and especially with liquid damage, employee efforts to fix the phone can damage the phone more! Putting a waterlogged phone in rice can cause a rice grain to get lodged in the power socket or headphone jack, and it doesn’t help the phone dry out. If a phone has had a milky tea or coffee spilt over it, drying it out will leave milk residue inside which can still go off!
Businesses are increasingly aware of the environmental impact they can have and keeping mobile devices running for as long as possible allows businesses to reduce their electronics waste while also saving thousands of pounds a year. Apple provides software updates for devices up to 4 years old, and by replacing the battery when it starts to run down businesses can dramatically extend the useful life they can extract from their mobile assets, which is also better for the environment!”