When you buy a Mac it comes with 90 Days of Phone support and a one year limited warranty which is Not AppleCare. Yes you talk to the same people, but AppleCare is an extended service contract. They will talk to your from 3 years of your date of purchase of the Mac as well as repair any hardware fault that were not the result of accidental damage or water. Overall I find AppleCare very helpful and easy to deal with, but like anything its not perfect. Its like an extended warranty sometimes you never use it, but it buys peace of mind.