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

[chetzar]

My own approach towards Apple Care is never to get it, because:
1. It is overly expensive for what it is, with a high deductible when you make a claim - bringing the total cost of Apple Care even higher than just the policy fee;
2. I have household insurance that covers loss or damage with a reasonable excess;
3. I generally trust Apple products will last - I still use an 8 year old MBP;
4. I tend to avoid Gen 1 Apple products, including the M1 Pro/Max architecture;
5. Each year I have the product, depreciation means the Apple Care:residual value ratio is even lower;
6. While not an option for most, I purchase my products in Switzerland, where local laws mean I get a 2 year warranty included; and,
7. If the product fails, I can put my saved money or insurance money to buying the latest generation of the product rather than a repair or refurbished replacement of an item that could be out of date.

Problem is, when your SSD fails just outside of the 1 year warranty and the only way to fix it is by:
1) Paying Apple $1,000+ to replace the entire logic board
2) Buy a used logic board on eBay for $800 and do it yourself, taking another gamble
The cost of AppleCare is much more reasonable than these repairs. I have a 2016 rMBP I rarely use now simply because the SSD failed and I have to run the laptop from an external SSD. 90%+ of the time it works fine, but I have to keep an SSD glue to it all the time, far less portable and eats 1 of the TB3 ports. If the SSD was user upgradeable/replaceable, it would be a ~$200 repair, at most. Hell, it's a 512, so probably less than $100.

Trick!

For laptops, the 4th year and beyond have exponentially rising risks of catastrophic failure. Apple knows this. Why would they cover it for more than 3 years? They would just lose money.

They shouldn't though. You are paying a premium for higher quality parts. Also, because some of these machines run upwards of $5,000 - $6,000 for a laptop. Yes, Apple products are premium, but even by that standard, for that price you should be getting a machine that lasts at least 5 years. That's my opinion. I say this because the days of significant hardware advancements on an annul basis are behind us. The MacBook I daily drive is the late 2013 15" rMBP - which I bought for video editing in January 2014. Runs fine - fans kick on once in awhile while pushing 4k content, but most of the time it's super quiet (even better with Big Sur than any of the previous releases). Nearly 7 years old and still very useable even with a 4k monitor. I still have my Black MacBook from 2008 and it ran the last time I booted it up (2 years ago?). Only had to replace a battery. So, I have had decently good luck with Mac's over the years, but the with everything being soldered on and not being repairable (2013 at least had replaceable storage), it's something I feel they should offer on their higher end computers (high spec'd MacBook Pro's & Mac Pro's).
That said, apparently you can get the Annually Renewable coverage after the 3 year coverage is up, so it seems they are doing it already (I did not know you could do this - thought it was 3 years up-front or 3 years on a renewable plan).

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

That price almost took my breath away. Wow... But, yeah, for such an expensive machine, it's 'mudflaps on a Lamborghini'...

I can imagine a lot of people that pass on AC+ for those machines who will be sobbing at the cost of repairing their systems.

 

[vinay427]

Trick!

For laptops, the 4th year and beyond have exponentially rising risks of catastrophic failure. Apple knows this. Why would they cover it for more than 3 years? They would just lose money.

If you're in the US, you may have access to a credit card that extends the warranty for year 4 or even 5. For example, the Citi Costco card and many Amex cards explicitly state that their extended warranty coverage begins after any original extended warranty you may have purchased.

 

[holisticrunner]

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.

Until you accidentally drop your laptop and breaks the XDR display, yes.
Or you accidentally spill coffee onto your keyboard and smoke starts coming out of the laptop, yes.

You shouldn't pay 20% more for a feeling though.

 

[holisticrunner]

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.

You can renew appleCare yearly after 3years ...

 

[holisticrunner]

I wonder if they'll ever have a theft and loss for Macs.. probably not.

you can buy theft insurance. At and extra cost on top of Apple Care. Worth it if you are planning to visit Afghanistan or somewhere where petty crime is rampant.

 

[KindJamz]

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.

Macs don’t sound very reliable if you’ve had this many problems.

 

[haruhiko]

Until you accidentally drop your laptop and breaks the XDR display, yes.
Or you accidentally spill coffee onto your keyboard and smoke starts coming out of the laptop, yes.

You shouldn't pay 20% more for a feeling though.

My point is still valid. The maximum you lose is the device cost after depreciation. the max that the insurance gives you back is also the device cost after depreciation. Try harder.

 

[haruhiko]

In the past i've had multiple issues with MacBooks from Logic Board Failures to Video Card Failures to other types of catastrophic failures. With AppleCare on each device, Apple repaired most machines when possible but they have ended up giving me complete replacements twice with newer machines.



I've found generally they are VERY lenient on this if you have AppleCare+ and tend to replace anyway to make the customer happy.



Unless you had some sort of physical damage, if it failed on it's own that would be covered by AppleCare+ with no deductible. (Although maybe the $100 is the annual fee you paid?)

Maybe the machines should not just fail on its own. If in the 2-3 years your MacBook failed multiple times on you, it’s obviously a manufacturing problem, and Apple should have covered it anyway.

 

[KindJamz]

In the past i've had multiple issues with MacBooks from Logic Board Failures to Video Card Failures to other types of catastrophic failures. With AppleCare on each device, Apple repaired most machines when possible but they have ended up giving me complete replacements twice with newer machines.



I've found generally they are VERY lenient on this if you have AppleCare+ and tend to replace anyway to make the customer happy.



Unless you had some sort of physical damage, if it failed on it's own that would be covered by AppleCare+ with no deductible. (Although maybe the $100 is the annual fee you paid?)

Again with all these issues why continue to buy such a unreliable laptop?

 

[Cyber_Mango]

I almost always buy AC+ with my Apple products but I never end up needing it. That is until last year when the logic board on my 2017 MBP had to be replaced. Now I'm torn on whether I should get AC+ with one of the new MacBook Pros.

 

[Daniel L]

I also do not usually buy it extended warranties but Apple truly goes above and beyond so I’m definitely going to get AppleCare. The damage protection is just another cherry on top with a toddler running around.

Some examples:

The butterfly keyboard got stuck and after repair the Touch Bar wasn’t working. The tech spoke to the manager and they replaced my 15” Touch Bar model with a 16” higher spec model, on the spot, 3 days after release of the new model back in 2019. They also comped another 3 years of AppleCare+ on the replacement laptop.

My toddler smashed my iPhone 12 Pro Max. The damage went from the front screen, smashed the camera module, and back glass. They charged me for glass replacement and gave me a new/refurb (I can’t tell) phone immediately.

Multiple battery replacements on laptops

Yellowing cord replacements

 

[zubikov]

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.

Could not have said it better myself. By rule, no retail company would ever sell you insurance if they weren't making a killing on it. It's one of the fattest profit margin products a company sells usually.

As a rule of thumb, only get insurance for necessities that you can't cover with 1-2 paychecks: house, car, your health etc. A loss of dwelling, or inability to get to work or a hospital on time could prove to be catastrophic.

For example, if you purchase $20K of apple products over a 10 year span, insuring those products within the narrow 3 year window may run you upwards of $4K. By declining Apple Care consistently, you are betting that you will not incur $4K out-of-pocket losses in 10 years, which is a reasonable bet.

 

[Brien]

Always buy AC on Rev. A hardware. Always.

 

[svish]

Slight increase. Good to get AppleCare as repairs can be very very expensive otherwise.

 

[Total Respray]

Problem is, when your SSD fails just outside of the 1 year warranty and the only way to fix it is by:
1) Paying Apple $1,000+ to replace the entire logic board

Sorry to hear of your problem. The only consolation I can offer is to think of the cost as $1,000 less the cost of AppleCare you would have spent and also less the cost of the excess they would have made you pay.

 

[smirking]

Note not 2 years, 3 years now. Could just buy a year?

Wait, where are you getting that it's 3 additional years now? If AppleCare+ gets you four years of total coverage, that would change things considerably.

 

[smirking]

Costco includes AppleCare+ at no additional charge on the Macs so provided they don’t stop doing that this generation I know where I’ll be going to pick one up.

Costco extends warranties for an extra year, but it's a Costco warranty and not AppleCare+ so that means what's covered will be more limited than with AppleCare.

 

[likegadgets]

Macs don’t sound very reliable if you’ve had this many problems.

They are actually quite reliable - the issues have been over a period from 2012 to date and over many many macs in the household,

 

[Lucas Curious]

I will say that if you are a sucker and purchase Best Buy's "Total Tech", any product you buy after that gets 2 years of some kind of extended warranty. For apple products, they actually add AppleCare+ any purchases. Bought my phone from there last night. It has full AppleCare on there for 0 additional bucks. Same thing is true with the MacBook I ordered. The plan covers itself after one apple purchase from them really.

I will say that if you are a sucker and purchase Best Buy's "Total Tech", any product you buy after that gets 2 years of some kind of extended warranty. For apple products, they actually add AppleCare+ any purchases. Bought my phone from there last night. It has full AppleCare on there for 0 additional bucks. Same thing is true with the MacBook I ordered. The plan covers itself after one apple purchase from them really.

So if you pay the $199 for the first year of bestbuy, you auto get 2 years AppleCare or do you need to keep paying $199 each year?

 

[KindJamz]

They are actually quite reliable - the issues have been over a period from 2012 to date and over many many macs in the household,

I understand that. It was more tongue in check. But the point stands. If you have multiple hardware issues with several devices from the same manufacturer. Even over years. Ehh.

Guess I haven’t really missed not having computer the last 3-4 years. Phone works for me

 

[jimthing]

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.

Apple's support pages are contradictory, between the US vs. non-US pages, see here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...r-apple-store-purchases.2318470/post-30487797

 

[magbarn]

Costco does not include AC+ at no additional charge.

If you buy it from them with Costco Credit card it doubles warranty to 2 years. You also have 90 days to demo the MBP. Applecare+ if bought with the MBP at costco is also only $319 instead of $399.

 

[Prest]

There will be a lot of suckers buying this, but some very basic math to risk adjust the cost should easily dissuade someone.

 

[RealestDate]

I've had something go seriously wrong in either year two or three on every single one of the Apple laptops I've bought. The precise circumstances are a little fuzzy now, but from memory:

2006 MacBook needed the palm rests replaced, later had a failed hard drive
2009 MacBook Pro had a failed hard drive
2015 MacBook Pro had screen lamination problem
2015 work MacBook Pro had screen lamination problem and early battery failure
2018 MacBook pro had logic board failure

...some of those would likely have been covered by broader repair programmes, but not all. So at this point I consider AppleCare+ just part of the purchase price.