News - A quarter of iPhones fail within two years

[HEXUS]

A recent report has found this actually represents an improvement on a year ago, when a third of them were failing.

Read more.

[Singh400]

But wait I thought iPhone's "just work" because they are made by Apple? Are you trying to tell me this isn't the case? *shock horror*

[dangel]

I have a 3G here - misbehaving. That said, does it matter that much? Most people will get another one between 18-24 months anyway..

[oolon]

But wait I thought iPhone's "just work" because they are made by Apple? Are you trying to tell me this isn't the case? *shock horror*

There might be an apple on the front and it might have an apple design however its clearly made in a Chinese slave labour camp called "foxconn", so I would not workers to care to much about getting things perfect. Components are made by the cheapest bidder as well. It even has a non user replaceable battery Who has had a rechargeable battery last longer than 2 years and work as well as it did when new. The iphone to me is a phone designed with a short lifetime, after all that is in apple's best interest.

[Unique]

i'm surprised someone has had an iphone for longer than 12 months. 97% of users upgrade to the next model each year and look forward to waiting all night in line to do so. that means 3% of iphone users are sad untrendy losers with no friends and an ancient scabby phone

[dave87]

Don't apple do a swapout scheme with them - even for ones out of warranty?

If so I don't think anyone is majorly fussed by the idea that they fail, because apple's support is there when it happens. If my SE Xperia X1 was to fail, I'd need to send it away for repair....and that wasn't a cheap phone either?

[Rolphus]

Shock news: extended warranty retailer has statistics that would suggest getting an extended warranty is a good idea!

Wow.

[TooNice]

i'm surprised someone has had an iphone for longer than 12 months. 97% of users upgrade to the next model each year and look forward to waiting all night in line to do so. that means 3% of iphone users are sad untrendy losers with no friends and an ancient scabby phone

I must have a vivid imagination then (imaginary friends) Cheap dig at iPhone users aside (course, I care about being 'trendy', just look at the labels I wear - oh, wait), my 2G bought on clearance over 2 years ago, still work fine within the limitations of the phone. I've had more problematic phones.

[Mattus]

Find it hard to believe that the iPhone is much less reliable than any other smartphone. Smartphones are complex devices - there's a lot more failure points than on your Nokia 3310. Certainly the outer build quality of the iPhone is very good, though I don't know if that's replicated in terms of components.

[joel_spencer]

Also those statistics refer to accidental damage claims, i.e. the user's stupidity caused the problem. Get a £700 phone and fail to protect the screen and it should be you paying out of your own pocket. I'm amazed Apple usually fix for free in these cases. Guess they're just doing it so people will tell their friends to buy.

[TooNice]

Get a £700 phone and fail to protect the screen and it should be you paying out of your own pocket.

If by 'protecting the screen', you mean getting some kind of 'shield' on it, I disagree. If anything, I would expect a £700 to be more scratch resistant than a £500 (or less).

[Rob_B]

I'd have said they're pretty tough considering. I've had mine open a few times & it still runs like a dream. As someone else said, I've had much worse phones...

[aidanjt]

Get a £700 phone and fail to protect the screen and it should be you paying out of your own pocket.

A £700 phone should come with an unscratchable transparent aluminium screen, and if it doesn't, the idiots who gave it a scratchable screen should pay, since you've already paid through the nose for the thing.

[Rob_B]

A £150,000 Ferrari should come with indestructable bodywork & tyres that never wear out, after all my lada only cost me £20.....





Sense the sarcasm?

[aidanjt]

A £150,000 Ferrari should come with indestructable bodywork & tyres that never wear out, after all my lada only cost me £20.....

Are you trying to say the iPhone is an expertly designed lightweight, extremely high performance, highly specific purpose, barely legal device wherein using a scratch-proof screen would throw the laws of physics out the window?

[TooNice]

I'd have said they're pretty tough considering. I've had mine open a few times & it still runs like a dream. As someone else said, I've had much worse phones...

What do you mean by open? Actually, I did put a 'Invisible Shield' on my 2G iPhone, but I find the texture too thick. If I do end up getting the latest, I would do without, and expect it to be no worse than cheaper phones that I've had in terms of scratch resistance.