A study last year by third-party warranty company SquareTrade provides some interesting statistics on where iPhone accidents occur. The study was published in October 2012, but flew under our radar. Thanks to Boy Genius Report for brining it to our attention Tuesday.
For those unfamiliar with the company, SquareTrade sells extended warranties for a variety of consumer electronics and appliances. A large number of items ranging from iPhones, to home theater receivers, to refrigerators can be covered under an extended warranty provided by the company.
What sets SquareTrade apart from most manufacturer warranties, however, is the fact that they cover accidental damage to products, something that is not officially covered by companies such as Apple. As a result of this policy, SquareTrade has compiled statistics on where and how products like the iPhone are broken. The results are both interesting and potentially helpful for users hoping to avoid a device-killing tumble.
Although iPhones are extremely portable, most damage (51 percent) reportedly occurs in an owner’s home. Of the areas in the home, kitchens are the most likely location for an iPhone to die due to their usually hard floors, heavy traffic, and the abundance of foods and liquids that the device can encounter. It’s also likely that usage models play a role, as many iPhone owners like to listen to music or podcasts while cooking, or look up recipes on the fly.
The living room (18 percent), bathroom (16 percent), and driveway (10 percent) are the next most-likely locations for an accident while the bedroom at 8 percent rounds out the top five “danger zones.”
Some interesting statistics on exactly how iPhones die are also available. A surprisingly low 5 percent of iPhone owners have accidentally washed their iPhone in the washing machine, 9 percent have dropped it in a (hopefully clean) toilet, and 6 percent have left the phone on top of a car and then driven off.
When it comes to iPhones damaged by liquids, 43 percent of liquid damaged phones met their end due to water, 19 percent encountered soda, 12 percent drowned in a farewell pool of beer, and another 12 percent went out thanks to coffee or tea.
Finally, most accidents overall are the fault of the owner, and not a careless child, friend, or coworker. In all, 69 percent of accidents are caused by the owner.
The full infographic, along with several others of interest to Apple customers, are available on the SquareTrade Blog.