Stefan Mileschin

The build quality of the two new Apple iPhones is lower than previous models, according to insurance company SquareTrade.

SquareTrade offers a gadget protection plan so it is jolly interested to know which phones it will have to pay out more to replace. Americans have spent over $6 billion on broken iPhones.

According to Phys.org, while smartphones have tended to improve in durability, the iPhone 5C and 5S are a step backwards and both received worse grades than the iPhone 5.

SquareTrade has put top-selling smartphones through a series of tests like dropping from five feet and submerging in water for 10 seconds.

Eight different factors are used to calculate the phone's durability like materials used for the front and back, weight and size.

The phones are scored from one to ten, with a higher score meaning the phone is more likely to break.

Last year, the iPhone 5 had a score of five, but this year, the iPhone 5S received a score of 5.5 and the iPhone 5C received a score of 6.

The worst phone for durability was the Samsung Galaxy S4, which got a score of 7, while the best scoring phone was the Google Moto X with a score of 4.5.

Ty Shay, chief marketing officer at SquareTrade had expected that at least one of the new iPhone models would up its game, but it was the Moto X that proved most forgiving of accidents.

It had been expected that the 5C would be less durable than the 5S because of its plastic case, but if you want an iPhone to last it is probably better that you hang onto the iPhone 5.

http://news.techeye.net/mobile/apple...es-are-fragile