I've used Apple products since the early 1980s. Never had AppleCare. Never needed it. That's true for the kids as well.
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iPhone 13 Pro Max Applecare+ for the new iPhone 13 lineup, Yay or Nay?
- Thread starter FrozenDarkness
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Haha, well that's always the risk when riding on one wheel. The wheel I have can go over 50mph+, but I don't go that fast and it can get over 100 miles on a single charge, dependent on rider weight, terrain, and speed/acceleration.Hope you’ve got SelfCare+ to go alongside it…
Edit: What do you think Apple would charge for SelfCare+; Given my age, I think I'm a bit past the 60 day mark. In store inspection?
Sadly I think their response would be, much like the iPhone 5… support is no longer offered.
Although you would still get security updates. So it’s not all bad!
Sadly I think their response would be, much like the iPhone 5… support is no longer offered.
Although you would still get security updates. So it’s not all bad!
Lol, as long as I'm not declared "vintage".
I have to say... this conversation is very much (I think) behavioral economics and the discussion and the issue of risk. Personally, I hate how much insurance (in general) we have to pay (e.g., house, car, health, etc.), and most of the time I've gotten Applecare I've only used it on my desktops (which seems to be the opposite of most people on this site). Anybody with a Ph.D. in Behavioral Economics? 
I went with AC+ for the first time ever on an Apple product on my 13 Pro.
The repair prices are high, I don’t use a case (and have only broken one phone since my first cell phone in 1995 to be fair), so I thought I’d try it for once, mostly for peace of mind given my history.
Also I think the 13 Pro is more slippery than the XS it replaces, but I might be wrong on that one.
The repair prices are high, I don’t use a case (and have only broken one phone since my first cell phone in 1995 to be fair), so I thought I’d try it for once, mostly for peace of mind given my history.
Also I think the 13 Pro is more slippery than the XS it replaces, but I might be wrong on that one.
I have to say... this conversation is very much (I think) behavioral economics and the discussion and the issue of risk. Personally, I hate how much insurance (in general) we have to pay (e.g., house, car, health, etc.), and most of the time I've gotten Applecare I've only used it on my desktops (which seems to be the opposite of most people on this site). Anybody with a Ph.D. in Behavioral Economics?
I owned Berkshire Hathaway stock a long time ago and I read the annual reports that are written by Buffett and he wrote one one year in particular that was about how great the insurance business is. Berkshire Hathaway was founded on insurance and eventually became a conglomerate. He presented the insurance business as a "Heads I win, Tails you lose" proposition and made a good case for being on the insurance side. I've generally been a minimalist on insurance since then, except for healthcare. My company at the time did self-insure for healthcare and I looked into that and large companies feel that they can do a better job financially on it then having an insurance company provide for it.
On behavioral stuff: perhaps people take better care of their things if they are completely responsible for it. There is the concept of moral hazard - if someone else takes care of the costs of damage, does that result in more reckless behavior? If you have medical procedures that can fix lung cancer, are people more likely to smoke? If you can fix heart problems, are people more careless with diet and prone to exercise less?
On iPhone in particular in my case:
- I bought an iPhone 13 mini. Retail cost is $729 and my carrier gave me a $300 discount. So my out-of-pocket cost is $429. My history with iPhones is that they last a long time. I still have an iPhone 5 in my drawer - works perfectly fine. My previous iPhone is a 7+ and that's now my backup phone. It's also perfectly fine. I even have a Motorola RAZR flip phone which I liked a lot and that would probably still work if I went to Verizon and activated it.
- AppleCare provides for three years of protection I think. If I lost my phone in two years, I'd want an iPhone 15; not an iPhone 13.
- AppleCare is $149 for extended warranty and $219 for the premium tier. So I'd be paying one-third to one-half my cost of the iPhone in insurance. I would rather save that cost and put it towards a new phone down the road. This calculation is based on your phone cost which is likely considerably different from mine.
- I have a backup phone which means that I could afford to wait for a carrier or other discount if I lost my primary phone.
Based on the good experience I had with AppleCare for my iMac, I think this is true.
I think that they take a quick peek at your purchase history over AppleCare. I've always had outstanding service with Apple. Buying a $6,000 Mac Pro is more profitable for them than an AppleCare premium.
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I realize that AppleCare is a premium over the already pricey device. Insurance is something that you hope that you don't need it but you are glad to have it when you need it. Given the repair costs and how much I paid for my iPhone 13 Pro Max Graphite 512GB, I got AppleCare+ Theft Loss when I pre-ordered through Best Buy.
Only insure for the risk that you cannot afford. The max you lose in this case is just a phone. It’s not the same as car or house insurance since the risk can be very big financially.
The money I saved over the 14 years of owning many Apple products without buying AppleCare is worth several new Apple devices already.
The money I saved over the 14 years of owning many Apple products without buying AppleCare is worth several new Apple devices already.
House and car insurance is a little different because those also cover liability. Almost all states require car insurance while most people have to also have homeowners insurance because it is required by their mortgage company.
Over here not worried about being robbed as the law is strict and tough. Nobody dares to rob.
Those who got apple care here are mostly for “accidental damage”. The new replacement set comes out 1-2 mths before the new iPhones drop and are sold as “brand new apple replacement unit”. Apparently these units can sell close to the retail price of the same phone.
Those who got apple care here are mostly for “accidental damage”. The new replacement set comes out 1-2 mths before the new iPhones drop and are sold as “brand new apple replacement unit”. Apparently these units can sell close to the retail price of the same phone.
I thought that there are mitigations in iPhones to make theft useless - you report it as stolen and Apple bricks it.
I've never gotten AppleCare+, but now that I can pay monthly I'm tempted. I'm just debating if I want to stay with 256gb or 512gb.
Yes, I think Applecare is a great deal. I used to have just the basic on my previous 11 Pro. After getting my 13 Pro I’ve upgraded to Applecare with Theft & Loss.
Sure, most probably will pay more for insurance in their lifetime than repairs/replacements, but it offers peace of mind when accidents do happen. It’s a choice nonetheless, and I personally think $10 ($13.50 if Theft & Loss) a month for an essential lifestyle item like a phone is really worth it.
Sure, most probably will pay more for insurance in their lifetime than repairs/replacements, but it offers peace of mind when accidents do happen. It’s a choice nonetheless, and I personally think $10 ($13.50 if Theft & Loss) a month for an essential lifestyle item like a phone is really worth it.
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Thing I like about AppleCare + Theft & Loss is that no matter what happens, no fuss, no muss.
I’m assuming there is some discretion on the part of the genius - I’ve done applecare replacements for all of my phones that had them. I’m the first to admit that the back glass breaking on a couple of the swaps was…shall we say, assisted along by me towards the end of coverage to get a phone swap? I’ve only been charged the replacement fee twice out of 6 times I’ve swapped the phones since I’ve used my replacements (2 on iPhone X - legit threw it across my office when it slipped out of my hand picking it up, other one was right before coverage was up and may have been helped along
), 2 on the hubby’s iPhone 8 Plus ( 1 broken screen from him dropping it off his motorcycle, the genius replaced the glass and didn’t charge us because the first screen they replaced was faulty so they gave us a new phone instead, one ‘broken accidentally’ back glass to get a refresh before an upgrade so we could sell the phone after), and 2 on my 11PM (once for back glass and once for signal issues) Both of those times I was charged a fee was in store. Anytime I did the express swap (on the 11PM), I was never charged the replacement fee for the phone. So I’ve definitely had some geniuses use discretion. One genius even asked me leading questions to get me to say yes to an issue we weren’t having, so he could approve a no charge swap.
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I’m assuming there is some discretion on the part of the genius - I’ve done applecare replacements for all of my phones that had them. I’m the first to admit that the back glass breaking on a couple of the swaps was…shall we say, assisted along by me towards the end of coverage to get a phone swap? I’ve only been charged the replacement fee twice out of 6 times I’ve swapped the phones since I’ve used my replacements (2 on iPhone X - legit threw it across my office when it slipped out of my hand picking it up, other one was right before coverage was up and may have been helped along), 2 on the hubby’s iPhone 8 Plus ( 1 broken screen from him dropping it off his motorcycle, the genius replaced the glass and didn’t charge us because the first screen they replaced was faulty so they gave us a new phone instead, one ‘broken accidentally’ back glass to get a refresh before an upgrade so we could sell the phone after), and 2 on my 11PM (once for back glass and once for signal issues) Both of those times I was charged a fee was in store. Anytime I did the express swap (on the 11PM), I was never charged the replacement fee for the phone.
So I’ve definitely had some geniuses use discretion. One genius even asked me leading questions to get me to say yes to an issue we weren’t having, so he could approve a no charge swap.
You just admitted to insurance fraud, purposefully breaking your own device to file a claim.
This.
I get that people like piece of mind, but rationally speaking there are only two scenarios when you should take out insurance:
1) If the financial risk is so great that an adverse event, however unlikely, would financially ruin you or deplete a considerable portion of your financial assets. Health insurance, home and contents insurance, disability insurance and life insurance all fall into this category - for most people.
2) If your situation leads to a significantly higher risk of claiming than average, and you can hide this fact from the insurer such that they can't accurately price your insurance premium. Which is precisely the reason why all private insurers in the examples above (health insurance etc.) spend considerable effort in understanding your risk profile.
For me personally, (1) is not a good reason to get Apple Care. I understand this may be different for some people, but I would be concerned if an iPhone 13 represented a significant portion of my assets.
(2) is interesting, because Apple obviously does not price-discriminate with their premiums. Personally, I've had iPhones for close to 10 years. I have never lost or destroyed one and I am very careful with my stuff in general. So if I took out AC+, there'd be a high chance I'd be subsidising other people. However, if for example I was using my phone regularly in high risk environments, say on a boat, it may well make sense to take out AC+.
Bottom line: if (1) doesn't apply to you and for (2) you consider your risk to be average or less, AC+ makes little sense.
Honest people paying for that insurance for just a peace of mind is definitely subsidising for people purposefully breaking their phones.
couldn’t have summarised it better. Thanks very much!