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AppleCare+ for New 16-Inch MacBook Pro Costs $399

nvmls said:
Waiting for the iCloth AC+ announcement.
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same here. I know for a fact that ill claim the damage several times over. You guys think im kidding but why spend $100 on microfiber clothes when I can make warranty claims for 3 years. I'll wipe my car with it and then my arse before stopping by the apple store. I'll enjoy watching the Apple Genius inspect the cloth for damage.
 
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haruhiko said:
This insurance plan costs 20% of the purchase price. Maximum payout for the insurance policy (only for 1-2 extra year) is the cost of your device - actually less since it is usually a refurbished unit, and depreciation. Comparing with other types of insurance, the premium is really high here. If the purchase price of your device is not going to break your bank, which I think it is not otherwise you wouldn’t have bought the machine in the first place, besides a so called ”peace of mind” I don’t think you should buy this insurance plan.

i know this is an unpopular opinion but the money I saved by not paying for AppleCare has saved me money that can buy me several new Apple gadgets already over the 15 years of owning Apple products. If there is any manufacturing defects from Apple, it’s their fault and they should cover it or recall the product. I’m not going to pay 20% more for a feeling.
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Your math is correct. Self insurance if you are a careful consumer will likely be less expensive. HOWEVER, on expensive Apple Devices I always get Applecare for convenience and peace of mind setting aside some of the actuarial logic. I have had two swollen batteries, a bad keyboard, a bad logic board and a bad screen. (Through several units and several years). The replacements have been swift with little downtime - often 3 days at most. Furthermore. Applecare gives you telephone access for the coverage period. They help with any issue, not just hardware. This has been proven very helpful as well.
 
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haruhiko said:
This insurance plan costs 20% of the purchase price. Maximum payout for the insurance policy (only for 1 extra year) is the cost of your device - actually less since it is usually a refurbished unit, and depreciation. Comparing with other types of insurance, the premium is really high here. If the purchase price of your device is not going to break your bank, which I think it is not otherwise you wouldn’t have bought the machine in the first place, besides a so called ”peace of mind” I don’t think you should buy this insurance plan.

i know this is an unpopular opinion but the money I saved by not paying for AppleCare has saved me money that can buy me several new Apple gadgets already over the 15 years of owning Apple products. If there is any manufacturing defects from Apple, it’s their fault and they should cover it or recall the product. I’m not going to pay 20% more for a feeling.
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I agree that 'extended warranty' type insurance is generally not worth it in the long run. I have never purchased AppleCare before, and have yet to regret not doing so… but I am also able to do most repairs myself. And I have replaced screens, motherboards, cases, etc. But as @The Clark states, the repairability of recent Apple laptops has been greatly reduced. Apple *should* cover manufacturing defects, and they often (begrudgingly) do, but not necessarily before a lot of users have had to pay out of pocket for repairs or have already chosen the replace the machine.

Also worth noting: AppleCare+ (U.S.) adds two years of coverage to the standard warranty (and 2 incidents of accidental damage every 12 months) for three years of total coverage. And I'm not sure where "20% of the purchase price" comes from. The base price of the 16-inch is $2499, so AC+ is 16% of that price. For the standard 'Max' 16-inch at $3499, AC+ is 11% of the purchase price. AC+ for the 14-inch is $279, so 14% for the base model and 11% for the "better" $2499 model. Annually, that's 3.6% - 5.3% of the purchase price. I think that's still pretty steep, but particularly with all the new technology in these laptops, I would be tempted to purchase the coverage, particularly for a heavily upgraded machine. And the accidental damage coverage is a nice bonus for anyone with kids, pets, or a knack for clumsiness.
 
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chetzar said:
Honestly, given that these devices are unrepairable for simple things like Memory or Storage failures (common points of failure on any computer), it's worth getting. That said, I really think they need to offer Apple Care up to 4-5 years on some of these devices. $4,500 on a laptop (almost fully spec'd) and you only get 3 years of warranty? Nah. You could just buy a new MacBook each year instead.
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I believe they do now. You can get a yearly renewable plan until cancelled, or if you get the 3 years, you can then go on on the yearly (or even monthly plan). I was just offered that on a Watch Series 5 and on a 2 year old iPad. Right on the "about" on the device.
 
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rnizlek said:
I've generally skipped AppleCare and never had an issue. The first 2-3 years I've never had problems with an Apple device. What's changed my mind is now the ability to have indefinite AppleCare for $100/year (for the 14 inch). Over the 7 years I've had my MacBook Pro, the track pad has developed an issue and the battery has died. I had hardware issues with my black MacBook years ago at about the 4 year mark. All of these items cost hundreds to have serviced by Apple. While I probably won't do better than breaking even, knowing that at any point I can bring my device to Apple and have the repairs fully covered is worth it for me. I definitely don't plan to take advantage of it for the first few years, though (hopefully!). I do wish there was a lower option that didn't cover accidental damage - that never an issue for me.
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I would love the option to waive the accidental damage coverage for a lower cost!
 
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Shirasaki said:
So much about apple silicon lowering device cost. M1 treat never comes back. Everything becomes more expensive after that.
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Apple is a luxury product.

The only thing that locks you into the Apple ecosystem, in 2021, is QuickTime.

Android doesn’t currently support QuickTime, but Windows does.

QuickTime uses Atoms to create the video file:

github.com

GitHub - rarewin/AtomSeeker: Analyzer for Apple's QuickTime format files

Analyzer for Apple's QuickTime format files. Contribute to rarewin/AtomSeeker development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com

It seems possible to support QuickTime on Android (.mov, ProRes, Live Photo’s, HEIC, etc.).

That said, looking at the code gives me headaches at the moment.

Also, put your Apple files on an external exFAT HDD and not an APFS.
 
Sadly it has kind of become a necessity.
I have owned 5 iPhones since 2008 and none of them gave me any problems. But my 2015 MacBook had a failed SSD on 2 year mark and 2 dead pixels on 2.5 year mark.
2020 M1 MacBook dead pixel just 10 months in. Thankfully, it was repaired under warranty. If anything goes wrong after 1 year the MacBook is basically useless as the repair is so expensive.
 
Apple and Android license AAC and .H264 for about $1.25 for every device. Maybe more.

So Google licensing QuickTime from Apple is not different than Apple licensing .H264 or .H265.

Also note that DVD and Blu-Ray Players license MPEG, as well at the DVD and Blu-Ray itself (about $0.25 per disc).
 
haruhiko said:
This insurance plan costs 20% of the purchase price. Maximum payout for the insurance policy (only for 1-2 extra year) is the cost of your device - actually less since it is usually a refurbished unit, and depreciation. Comparing with other types of insurance, the premium is really high here. If the purchase price of your device is not going to break your bank, which I think it is not otherwise you wouldn’t have bought the machine in the first place, besides a so called ”peace of mind” I don’t think you should buy this insurance plan.

i know this is an unpopular opinion but the money I saved by not paying for AppleCare has saved me money that can buy me several new Apple gadgets already over the 15 years of owning Apple products. If there is any manufacturing defects from Apple, it’s their fault and they should cover it or recall the product. I’m not going to pay 20% more for a feeling.
Click to expand...

It isn't a black and white comparison honestly.

You have to balance the cost of repairs with the cost of upgrading and decide if you are comfortable replacing a device "prematurely". You'll recoup less money selling a broken device and paying Apple ridiculous prices for repairs that come with a 90 day warranty is a bit nuts. Not buying Apple Care+ is the cheapest option as long as you are comfortable with the other side of the equation. For many users buying a $2500 computer in another year can be a bit heavy.

You have less and less third party repair options as Apple continues its march down its proprietary bandwagon. Even if we get Right to Repair it will end up just like cars where Apple is the sole source for parts and they can set the price to whatever they want...

julesme said:
Also, what does Apple Care cover? Will they replace a 3 year old battery or is it just motherboard, screen, etc?
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They'll replace a 3 year old battery... Once you factor in a battery change it isn't very expensive.

Scoob Redux said:
in addition, if you purchase on a credit card that doubles manufacturers' warranties, you get a second year of warranty coverage for free, making AppleCare+ an even worse proposition.
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You can also double up if you have Amex. They'll extend your warranty by 1 year up to a max of 5. So you can do Apple Care+ and get 3 years of coverage from Apple + 1 year from Amex... It isn't an either or proposition.
 
jkichline said:
Hey when you have an entire system on one chip, it makes things a little more pricey. Plus the devices are generally more expensive anyway, but they are also beasts of a machine. It's also optional.
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An entire system on one chip is by far the cheapest way to make a computer. Why do you think Woz spent so much time trying to reduce the number of chips on his designs, or why the Raspberry Pi only costs $35? Chips are expensive to make, the fewer you need the cheaper the machine is.
 
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A Mac supports the following licenses (each one costing Apple money):

- AAC
- H264
- H265
- MPEG-2
- MPEG-4 AVC
- OGG

etc.

So they wind up settling for something like $10 per each device (iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, iPadOS, etc.)

And that’s just video and audio formats.

Then they have to write the software to play it:

- iMovie
- QuickTime
- Finder
- iTunes / Apple Music

I hope that explains why Apple is so expensive.
 
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brofkand said:
An entire system on one chip is by far the cheapest way to make a computer. Why do you think Woz spent so much time trying to reduce the number of chips on his designs, or why the Raspberry Pi only costs $35? Chips are expensive to make, the fewer you need the cheaper the machine is.
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A Raspberry Pi has no software.

I don’t know how Ubuntu is free but they always ask for a donation. :)
 
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A $99 Android phone is not $99. It’s probably $230 and they prorate the $130 on the assumption you’ll spend $433 in the Google Play Store (30% fee).

And if you don’t, Google and the phone maker lose money.
 
I did the yearly AppleCare+ plan when I got my M1 Macbook Air. Instead of $200 for 3 years upfront... it's just $70 a year. I feel like that's a nice tradeoff.

I'll keep the plan for a year or two... and then I can either cancel it or extend it further. It's nice to have options.

There's a yearly AppleCare+ plan for the 16" too... $150 a year. You could get it for a year or two and then cancel.

I'm not sure of the repair/preplacement process if you use your credit card's policy... though a lot of people recommend that too.

I live close to an Apple Store so I have easy access for service or replacements. That's why I went with the Apple solution.
 
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lcseds said:
That's not the half of it. A damaged screen costs an additional $99, liquid spill damage will cost $299 additional. Read the fine print. If the system board needs replacing from a spill, add $299 to the $399 cost of Applecare.
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I guess it really depends on the type of damage you are trying to repair.
I got my last MBP 2018 having hardware damage (can't boot) TWICE in 2 years. That was expensive to get it repaired.
So I am getting this new MBP and AC+ to be sure I don't pay that much extra if anything goes wrong.
And I consider it as part of the cost (but still cheaper than my current MBP 2018 without AC+ and more powerful oops).

But I do agree for accidental damage people should be reminded that there is an extra service fee on each repair.
 
Ultimately, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Google make billions of dollars and settle a portion of the revenue among the players involved.

If the licensor is upset with the contract, they remove their product, and things break.

How is everyone liking iOS 15?
 
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