Android Phones Are Pieces Of Crap Costing Telecoms $2 Billion A Year To Replace [Study]

Think Android phones are pieces of junk? Now you've got the data to prove it. A recent study has conclusively proven that Android phones are much more prone to breaking than iPhones and even BlackBerries, and their cheapness is costing telecoms big: up to $2 billion a year, in fact.

The issue, says wireless services firm WDS, is the surfeit of cheap Android phones aimed at the low end of the market. These phones, which can cost as little as $100 to make, have helped Android increase its share of the global smartphone market to 57%, but have a tendency to break at the earliest possible opportunity.

When a device does break, it ends up being extremely expensive to replace. According to WDS, just returning a shitty Android phone to manufacturer can cost up to 127 dollars in service costs, transport fees and replacement costs.

On the other hand, there's Apple. Sure, the iPhone is more expensive than the average Android phone, but because Apple keeps tight control over every aspect of the process, from materials used to construction to replacement, not only are iPhones not as likely to break without the user being at fault, but they are cheaper for Apple to fix and repair if they do.

[via Reuters]