IPhones get replaced more quickly than iPads & Macs

Unsurprisingly, a survey demonstrates that the iPhone is more critical in Apple users' lives than an iPad or Mac, leading to faster replacements.

All three devices are essential enough to warrant quick repairs or replacements if needed, and people tend to repair or replace their iPhones more quickly than their iPad or Macs. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners surveyed Apple customers on their preferences.

Over 80% of respondents said they would replace a lost, stolen, or damaged iPhone immediately or within a few days, with more saying they would do so than wait. Just 6% of people would wait for a working iPhone longer than a week.

Timing to repair or replace a lost, stolen, or broke device as of December 2022

But the iPad and Mac aren't too far behind. For those device categories, approximately 60% of those owners said they would fix or replace it the same day or within a few days.

Mac users also need their computers a little more than iPad owners need their tablets. For example, about 90% of Mac users would replace a lost, stolen, or broken computer within one week, but only 80% of iPad owners would do so in the same timeframe.

Only a tiny minority of iPhone, iPad, and Mac users said they would not replace a lost, stolen, or damaged gadget, indicating that all three products have become indispensable to Apple users.

Mac owners are the ones who can most go without their device at 3%, but only 1% of iPhone users said they wouldn't get a replacement. It's a device that people can more easily carry with them and serves as a lifeline to the world — sometimes literally.

8 Comments

blastdoor 3568 comments · 15 Years

About 1 year ago

My MBA is BTO so I don’t think I realistically could get it replaced within a week, though I would definitely want to.

DAalseth 3033 comments · 6 Years

Sounds about right. If my iPhone packed up for some reason I wouldn’t want to be without it for long. Too many people are depending on being able to get in touch with me. My iPad though would be a close second. I do all of my writing and art on it. I need to have that up and going again pretty quickly if it fails. But then I use my Mac for work. If it failed catastrophically, I’d need that going ASAP.

Aw hell, I guess I need to know the fastest route to an AppleStore no matter what happens.

rundhvid 126 comments · 10 Years

Apple users race to replace their iPhones more quickly than an iPad or Mac
That is one ~~idiotic~~ misleading headline!
And which  users are we talking about?:
Anything directly related to employment, is most likely excluded from the survey!
What fraction of the respondents have access to equivalent devices? (A phone for a phone, etc.) Especially among those who accepted “within a week” and longer downtime.
What fraction of the respondents have more than one of the three types of devices? (If my iPad dies, I can compensate with my iPhone, etc.)

And which of these two are the “best”?
A nail hammer
Or an excellent reproduction of a Van Gogh
That’s right—this choice (i.e. comparison) is just as senseless as the survey!

Instead: Compare iOS with Android users (and remember to include estimates on frequency and time to failure)
And ask a statistician to help you.

entropys 4302 comments · 13 Years

I would say this behaviour is not brand related.

Rogue01 189 comments · 3 Years

A phone in general is more vital for communication than a tablet or computer. So it would be obvious that a phone would be immediately replaced if lost or broken, especially for work purposes.