If it hasn’t happened to you, it’s probably happened to someone you know: a perfectly innocent iPhone succumbs to the torture of daily use and gives up the ship. Maybe the screen got cracked, or it took an unplanned swim, but for one reason or another, the phone ended up down for the count. Some new data from warranty provider SquareTrade gives us some context of just what all this damage is costing us.

Only in the US, and only considering iPhone-series smartphones, Americans have paid nearly $6 billion for repairs and replacements of damaged iPhones since the line debuted in 2007. Furthermore, in the past year alone, close to a third of iPhone users ended up damaging their phones.

Breakdowns as to just what kind of damage we’re causing puts drops in the lead, whether that’s right out of our hands or falling from a tabletop. Right below that, there’s liquid damage, and full-on submersion seems to be more common than damaging an iPhone with just incidental liquid contact.

Is anyone thinking twice now about finally springing for a nice, secure case when they pick up their new iPhone 5?

Source: SquareTrade
Via: 9to5 Mac