Agree. Nevertheless I know recent (BigSur related) cases.
I can’t even get standard AppleCare for iPhone!?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AppleCare+ Coverage for Mac Can Now Be Extended Beyond Three Years
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I can’t even get standard AppleCare for iPhone!?
Can't say I agree with that to be honest. In the last 10 years we've seen SSDs become mainstream and get faster and faster. Retina displays. NVME drives, PCI3 then 4 (and soon 5), the adoption of 10gbit ethernet, Wifi 5 and then 6, OLED screens (not on Macs of course), smaller and smaller NM processes for chips we could only dream of 10 years ago (unless you're Intel), 4g and then 5g, DDR4, Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C, better more refinded designs, haptic feedback and trackpads, improved speaker technology, brighter screens, much better microphone arrays and of course now Apple Silicon.
We're on the road to lots of new changes over the next few years too - PCIE 5, USB4, DDR5, Mini LED, Wifi6e and whatever else Apple has up their sleeve with AS and new features they can create.
Everyone else does it without raising their prices. My TV came with a 5 year warranty, my Samsung fridge has a 10 year warranty. Every other electronic devices I own has more than a paltry one year warranty as standard. Apple are just being greedy.
You're making the assumption that the price would be the same without the longer warranty. Companies offering the longer warranty no doubt do that for competitive reasons but still have to book a larger liability for expected warranty costs. As a result, they either have a lower margin or raise the price to keep the desired margin. HP and Dell, to use your examples, sell a lot more laptops than Apple and can spread the costs over the larger volume, as well as have lower costs of components due to higher volume.
One data point is to look at price differentials for Apple computers between the US and the EU, ex VAT, and there is still a significant premium. While some no doubt is to account for currency fluctuations the added costs of EU warranty laws also plays a role.
Except the warranty costs are baked into the price, as I pointed out above, you just don't see it.
You have a point, but I keep my Apple products much longer than three years. I don't consider them absolute at all. Yes, they don't have the latest features, but I may not need them. I have a 2007 iMac still in use for general purposes. My spouse uses an iPhone 7 (released in 2016) still completely functional and a iPad mini 2 released in 2013 still very functional for her needs. I still use an iPad 6th generation (released in 2018) which will be used at least for another 5 years, if not more. Of course though, I have the latest MBA with M1 chip.
Most of this is really central to the marketing and business game. They rely on the idea that people just have to have something newer, faster, sleeker, and so on. It's not new.
The Century of the Self
To many in both business and government, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power is truly moved into the hands of the people. Certainly the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self tells the untold and controversial...
thoughtmaybe.com
If that's what motivates someone, great! Other people consider computers and phones as very modern tools or appliances to help them do jobs or maybe help entertain them. Therefore, new emoji in the operating system and a faster interface for something they may never use doesn't drive their purchases. That works, too.
That is why I mentioned Apple Silicon. Apple do have a comptetive advantage in BOM cost. Much more so than Dell or HP. Dell and HP combined dont any anywhere near as much NAND, RAM or other component as Apple due to iPhone scale. And that advantage doesn't ends to translate to higher margin or lower price, but better services.
I see but don’t agree. Apple prices are already significantly higher than anyone else so they could afford to give a better warranty without raising prices by making a little less profit. Other companies do it despite much lower margins. Apple is just being greedy because they know fanboys are too obsessed or too stupid to protest.
Here's the thing.
As a consumer, I don't love their prices. Maybe if I was a stockholder, I might. But, I am not a stockholder.
Within whatever legal limitations there are, they can charge whatever they want. That's the nature of capitalism.
But, you are perfectly free to purchase or not purchase their offerings. That's also the nature of capitalism. If you don't like their prices or what you believe are too high profit levels, don't buy Apple products. Just as with any other product out there. (OK - it gets messy with basics like health care, food, and shelter. But, Apple doesn't sell any of those. At least as far as I know.)
For me, I like that they are offering the option to extend the useful life of products you might purchase from them. Some people don't care, since they will buy a new whatever in two years or whenever. So, they'd rather not have to pay for a better warranty or AppleCare+. Even if Apple were to cut their profit margins, that basic principle would still hold. Others, like me, are happier to keep a product longer as long as it works well. By that, I mean reliably and without malware. This option makes me more likely to consider a new Mac because it will last longer in my application.
If we all adopted that attitude every company would screw over their customers. Change happens when customers demand it not when they roll over and meekly accept everything Apple does.
As long as Apple makes its targets there is no reason for them to lower their prices.
Apple has an advantage in being able to differentiate their product, unlike Dell, HP, et. al. which are essentially selling a commodity with very little differentiation. You can only get Mac OS from Apple, and thus Apple can command a premium, while a Dell/HP/etc. are basically the same Win boxen so price becomes more important at when comparing similarly spec'd machines.
Customers demand it by buying elsewhere, absent that companies have no incentive to change.
I usually decline all extended coverages like this across the board on all products. I usually take great care of my things. However, I think I probably will get that new iMac, and we have a 3 year old and 2 month old. Is it time to start thinking about getting AppleCare on that iMac? Any opinions? Does it cover things that they could do to it?
That is the real bottom line, in every sense of the phrase. I think that's called "voting with your feet."
Yeah but it’s not a terrible idea.
I assume they will only allow you to renew it as long as the machine is not considered obsolete/vintage though... What’s the point of Applecare if there’s no part availability
I wasn't even aware they offered this option until just now. I would say 99% of the time, no -- it's unwise. But my iMac Pro *might* be an exception. Still a good "daily driver" desktop machine for me and I bought the 3 year Applecare protection on it when I got it, largely because Apple was offering it under the same policy used for any regular iMac. That made it a pretty cost-effective coverage plan for a machine that expensive. (Used it already to cover a cracked screen with the $99 deductible to replace it.)
Possibly still worth the cost to cover it another year or so.
Ok, so I’ve tried to get AppleCare after the 60 days expired on me. I called Apple customer service to tried to add it. I was told that I needed to go into the Apple Store and get it done because they would have to do a diagnostic on my phone and make sure that there was no damage at all. So I went to the Apple Store and the diagnostic was done and the phone was checked out. Everything was ready to go, and for some reason it was not going thru at all. So I was told by one of the Apple Store agents to call customer and see if they are able to get it done. Now when I called customer service the next day they could not get it done either. So customer service we’re saying that because it expired already I was not able to get AppleCare anymore. I don’t think they are aware of the this article..
The 60 days expired 2 weeks ago. Im not near the 30 days yet. I’m not sure if some of the customer service are aware of the new policy.
Which 60d period are you referring to?
AFAIK, the rule with Apple Care + usually is the following: within 60 days from a hardware purchase you can buy a 2y (iPhone/iPad) or 3y (Mac) protection plan.
Once that plan coverage is over you have max 30d to renew the protection plan infinitely (as noted in this article).
If you wait more than 60d and have not bought a 2y/3y plan I don’t think you can get any Apple Care plan anymore.
Apple Care + can only be purchased within 60 days from the iPhone purchase not afterwards. Or did find contrary information anywhere?