Statistics of Damaged Mobile Phones in the UK

According to the latest research, the British People have spent more than £680m each year just to have their phones’ screens fixed. From a poll of 2,000 users of mobile phones, the study showed that 53% have paid around £30 or more just to have their phones fixed last year alone. With around 42.7 million mobile phone users in the UK alone, the numbers can add up to a huge amount.

Based on the study regarding the phone repair market in the UK, more than a third of mobile phone users are currently using smashed, damaged, or broken phones. Furthermore, over half of the mobile users have damaged or completely broken their phones over the last three years.

According to research conducted by Mous, the British phone accessory brand, where their co-founder, Jams Griffith stated that they heard plenty of stories from customers on how they managed to break their phones’ screens. Among these include phones being run over by trucks, dropped during a roller-coaster ride, their phones being stolen and so on. However, the most common reason for phones getting damaged is when the owner accidentally drops it.

Most British People nowadays prefer to have a new mobile phone that is not only reliable but resistant to damage as well, instead of investing in phones with the latest hardware. Aside from losing money because of the need to repair damaged phones, having a broken phone can also mean several problems that can affect the users’ personal lives.

For example, millions of mobile phone users in the UK are storing important work or even personal documents in their handheld devices. According to the mobile phone damage statistics in the UK, 57 percent of British People have lost hundreds of photos as well as important documents because their phone got damaged.

Most Accident-Prone Age Group

According to Mintel, based on the UK mobile phone market statistics on the age group that is prone to damaging their phones, they learned that mobile users in the age bracket of 16 to 24 are the most accident-prone. This is due to the fact that 48% of these Brits were among those who smashed their phone screens over the last two years. As a matter of fact, it appears that 51% of young women in this age group are highly likely to have damaged their phone’s screen completely. On the other hand, only 7 percent of mobile phone users aged 55 and above have dropped their phone accidentally.

Mintel’s statistics showed that those who are living in London as well as in the West Midlands are more likely to have damaged their phone’s screen. On the other hand, around 19% of those who are living in East or South East of England have dealt with this phone issue.

However, it appears that the Brits are quite prepared for this catastrophe since 57% of them still keep their old phones as spare. The good news, however, is that foresight is becoming useful among mobile phone users because 26% of these owners have taken out an insurance policy on their phone. The number has gone up to 33% among the 16-24 age group which is great.

Why Buy Phone Insurance?

According to Adrian Reynolds, the Senior Technology Analyst at Mintel, screen repair is fast becoming an expensive issue, especially among the younger generation, since the cost of having a smartphone continues to climb. This is due to more usage amongst mobile phone users, plus the fact that they often carry their smartphones with them all the time. If you will take a look at the design of mobile phones today, you will find that most of them are equipped with larger and higher-quality screens, including glass backing to support wireless charging. Unfortunately, this causes the price of phone repair to go up at an alarming rate. If you don’t have any insurance on your mobile phone, you will be doling out a lot of cash just to have your smashed screen fixed. On the flip side, this means good business to those who are operating as independent repair companies as well as the protective accessory niche since they are focused on fixing smartphone screens and providing hardy cases as well as clear screen covers.

Two-Thirds of Owners are Considering Upgrading Their Smartphones in the Next Two Years

There are around 41% of mobile phone users who have their phones for less than a year, with 64% planning to get an upgrade in the next two years. On the other hand, more than half of mobile phone users prefer to keep their phones as long as they can manage.

If you are considering upgrading your phone, the leading upgrade factor that you should consider is battery life. There are 38% of mobile phone users who are after phones that have waterproofing capabilities. Still, regardless of having several tech-loving Brits wanting to get the latest smartphone in the market, around 31% of users are keen on the idea of buying phones second-hand.

With mobile phones becoming more sophisticated by the minute, Brits prefer to keep their old phones as much as possible. Mobile phone companies that are upgrading their products little by little, maybe hard-pressed to entice their customers to buy them.

According to Adrian, two to three-year-old smartphones are still capable of providing the same functions that most mobile phone users are in need of which is why they prefer to keep their devices longer.

Fingerprint Scanning is the Preferred Unlocking Method

Mobile phone manufacturers are embracing biometric technology in their smartphones with 39% of Brits preferring this method of unlocking their phones. Only 24% rely on PINs to unlock their phones. Password users make up 14% of Brits while 8% are comfortable with facial recognition to open their phones.

There is no doubt that consumers have taken advantage of biometric technology when it comes to enhancing their phone’s security features as well as verifying identity to make purchases or downloading apps. We will be seeing more of this trend moving towards facial recognition on some flagship phones, according to Adrian.