AC+ is mandatory for such an expensive device like my new MBP … especially with three teenagers in the house 🤪
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AppleCare or no AppleCare: that is the question
- Thread starter rwh63
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I bought AC+ in the end, I saved £200 on my M4 Pro MBP via an Amazon deal, so put that towards the 3 year cover so I don’t have to deal with Amazon support if anything goes wrong.
I've only had apple care for watch since I know that gets dinged and swung around a lot in person/on wrist.
Phone/iPad not so much, have protective case and I'm super careful with them.
Was considering adding one for MacBook Pro as this is the most expensive apple device I've owned to date (and my first) - at 7000aud RRP. Lady at the Apple Store ask me if I also have home and contents insurance to consider that also first before blindly diving into AppleCare. it would be 649$/3 year or 239$/year billed yearly.
I liked how the apple lady didn't jump to selling me AppleCare immediately and consider other options. Kudos to her because tbh I expect her to swing me straight onto AppleCare+ my understanding is battery replacement won't be any lesser (eg 49$ iPhone AppleCare vs 229$ without AppleCare)
Mostly use the MBP at home, rarely take it out often maybe once a fortnight but is nice when I need to move around the house instead of be tied down to a singular space 16" screen is big and amazing. As to why I took this? Couldn't wait for Mac Studio was taking forever for a refresh and the Nano Texture on MBP caught my attention immediately. (Especially for M4 Max 64GB)
Phone/iPad not so much, have protective case and I'm super careful with them.
Was considering adding one for MacBook Pro as this is the most expensive apple device I've owned to date (and my first) - at 7000aud RRP. Lady at the Apple Store ask me if I also have home and contents insurance to consider that also first before blindly diving into AppleCare. it would be 649$/3 year or 239$/year billed yearly.
I liked how the apple lady didn't jump to selling me AppleCare immediately and consider other options. Kudos to her because tbh I expect her to swing me straight onto AppleCare+ my understanding is battery replacement won't be any lesser (eg 49$ iPhone AppleCare vs 229$ without AppleCare)
Mostly use the MBP at home, rarely take it out often maybe once a fortnight but is nice when I need to move around the house instead of be tied down to a singular space 16" screen is big and amazing. As to why I took this? Couldn't wait for Mac Studio was taking forever for a refresh and the Nano Texture on MBP caught my attention immediately. (Especially for M4 Max 64GB)
was thinking of doing that since MBP isn't waterproof/resistant and its my most expensive apple product to date... 3x iPhone 16 pro max's equivalent . 649/3 year seem decent for insurance when broken down into monthly costs. [18-19/month]
I did an order through Apple Education store and saved 900aud off... on top of 5000 worth of gift cards which I accumulated over one or two years through cc churning and birthday gifts, the actual MBP costed me 1200 out of pocket
Yeah, I don’t normally get it for iPads and desktops, but there’s more potential for issues with laptops (though my previous two MBP’s have been fine), so bought it this time.
Also I didn’t fancy being at the mercy of Amazon, if something does go wrong!
I have always purchased AC for mobile devices (phones, iPads, laptops) although I made the exception when I bought my studio when it first came out. I just picked up a 14 inch M4 MBP and will be getting AC for it shortly. For me, it's insurance, plain and simple, a no brainer as far as I am concerned.
I'd recommend to get it. But then I did make quite some use of it over the years on different machines:
1. iMac G5 - many moons ago with AC, constantly replacing the Superdrive and Mighty Mouse.
2. 2009 MBP - not AC but an ext. 3rd party warranty with a machine I used for 13 yrs. Basically, every component was replaced or repaired over a decade. The insurance kicked me out as they started losing money.
3. MBP M2 Max - It was near new, lived on the couch and I babied it. No food or drinks within a meter. Then, reaching for a sugary drink, the glass caught on the table and the entire contents ended up inside (inc screen). Murphy's law to the extreme.
Oh how glad I was, to have AC+ with this MBP, as everything minus the lower base plate was replaced. And with a 3-2-1 backup I was up and running in a very short time again.
1. iMac G5 - many moons ago with AC, constantly replacing the Superdrive and Mighty Mouse.
2. 2009 MBP - not AC but an ext. 3rd party warranty with a machine I used for 13 yrs. Basically, every component was replaced or repaired over a decade. The insurance kicked me out as they started losing money.
3. MBP M2 Max - It was near new, lived on the couch and I babied it. No food or drinks within a meter. Then, reaching for a sugary drink, the glass caught on the table and the entire contents ended up inside (inc screen). Murphy's law to the extreme.
Oh how glad I was, to have AC+ with this MBP, as everything minus the lower base plate was replaced. And with a 3-2-1 backup I was up and running in a very short time again.
Sometimes accidents happen and they are out of your control, its like insurance, you hope you''ll never need it, but when you do, you are glad you have it.
I always buy it - more piece of mind over anything else.
I once had a top of the line laptop randomly start disconnecting external drives. The entire mainboard was replaced under Applecare.........that was 1 month before the 3 year Applecare was due to end! That alone would have cost me around £1k if I didnt have the coverage.
Most of the time you likely won't use it and it's a complete waste of money. But there's just that one time.......
I once had a top of the line laptop randomly start disconnecting external drives. The entire mainboard was replaced under Applecare.........that was 1 month before the 3 year Applecare was due to end! That alone would have cost me around £1k if I didnt have the coverage.
Most of the time you likely won't use it and it's a complete waste of money. But there's just that one time.......
I hadn't ever obtained AC with MacBook 12", Air or Pros of years past and never damaged one.
Apple replaced butterfly keyboards (and entire lower too!) on both 2015 m3 and 2017 i7 Macbook 12" systems for free. I even got the $395 max settlement on the refurb one of the two (the i7 was sniped from eBay)! Still use the m3 dual boot with Mojave and Win10.
The latest iteration of 14" and 16" Pros are far more susceptible to screen damage in my opinion so I'd get AC or purchase a used system that comes with it.
My used M3 Pro 14" came with Apple Care that the previous owner had purchased.
Apple replaced butterfly keyboards (and entire lower too!) on both 2015 m3 and 2017 i7 Macbook 12" systems for free. I even got the $395 max settlement on the refurb one of the two (the i7 was sniped from eBay)! Still use the m3 dual boot with Mojave and Win10.
The latest iteration of 14" and 16" Pros are far more susceptible to screen damage in my opinion so I'd get AC or purchase a used system that comes with it.
My used M3 Pro 14" came with Apple Care that the previous owner had purchased.
If you had to ask my wife right now if it is worth it, she would say yes.
But it's not quite what you think - and it's very very annoying.
She got the 2021 iMac M1 which was rock solid for 4 years.
Unbeknownst to her, this model has a critical flaw - horizontal lines on the monitor.
It's related to monitor brightness and a particular cable and heat.
The higher you keep the brightness over time, the shorter that cable lasts.
When it goes faulty, you get horizontal lines on the screen.
Look it up - this is quite a big deal that's impacted thousands of iMac users.
Apple are still refusing to admit fault.
Apple care plus for this iMac model for 3 years I think was £179 sterling (probably the same number in USD).
My wife didn't have it.
I convinced her to get a mac mini m4 and an external monitor and save a large chunk of change, which she reluctantly did. She's used the all in one macs since the eMac in 2002.
It didn't take much convincing - she doesn't trust the latest M4 iMac to not have exactly the same problem.
Adding £179 for 3 years of extra care, which I guess would be 4 years in total?
About the same amount of time she used her M1 iMac for until the screen broke.
Tough one, right?
I told her that she can get Apple Care plus for £99 for 3 years on the mac mini - "it's up to you"
I have the M4 pro and I'm considering it - I've got until November to decide.
I'm only considering it now, because of Apple manufacturing flaws - timebombs waiting to happen.
Whilst rare, we all know they can be there.
But it's not quite what you think - and it's very very annoying.
She got the 2021 iMac M1 which was rock solid for 4 years.
Unbeknownst to her, this model has a critical flaw - horizontal lines on the monitor.
It's related to monitor brightness and a particular cable and heat.
The higher you keep the brightness over time, the shorter that cable lasts.
When it goes faulty, you get horizontal lines on the screen.
Look it up - this is quite a big deal that's impacted thousands of iMac users.
Apple are still refusing to admit fault.
Apple care plus for this iMac model for 3 years I think was £179 sterling (probably the same number in USD).
My wife didn't have it.
I convinced her to get a mac mini m4 and an external monitor and save a large chunk of change, which she reluctantly did. She's used the all in one macs since the eMac in 2002.
It didn't take much convincing - she doesn't trust the latest M4 iMac to not have exactly the same problem.
Adding £179 for 3 years of extra care, which I guess would be 4 years in total?
About the same amount of time she used her M1 iMac for until the screen broke.
Tough one, right?
I told her that she can get Apple Care plus for £99 for 3 years on the mac mini - "it's up to you"
I have the M4 pro and I'm considering it - I've got until November to decide.
I'm only considering it now, because of Apple manufacturing flaws - timebombs waiting to happen.
Whilst rare, we all know they can be there.
I've always gotten AppleCare and have always had great experiences with it. Just last week, I accidentally stepped on my MacBook and it messed up the display with vertical lines. I brought it in and told them what happened, and the guy said they'll replace the screen without even charging me a service fee because he saw no damage on the outside.
I'm sure not everyone will have the same experience, it depends on who helps you. But I guess he appreciated that I was honest about how it got damaged.
I'm sure not everyone will have the same experience, it depends on who helps you. But I guess he appreciated that I was honest about how it got damaged.
As others have said, it comes down to risk tolerance, environment / use-case, and ability to stomach a big repair bill / effectively buy a new one, if something catastrophic happens.
A few of the considerations that I think factor into the decision:
- Is it a newer model refresh / generation? (First year of new model, eg. 2021 MBPs, M4 iPad Pros with Tandem Oled screens) May make sense more than usual to be covered in this case, as we get a better sense for whether a model generation is glitchy/prone to issues (eg. butterfly keyboards in the 2016-2020 MBP generation)
- Is it a more expensive / spec'd out version? (eg. ram, storage upgrades)? AC pricing is interesting in that it's the same within a model type (eg. 16" MBP, or 15" MBA). So within all 16" MBPs for example, AC is same price regardless if it's the base model, or a hugely upgraded version that's >2x the price. All things equal, with higher $ configs, AC is a lower cost as % of brand new... makes more sense more often
- Do you have kids in the home that run around / knock stuff over? Are you going to be taking your Mac around a lot / travel with it, or will it just sit on a desk?
- Do you tend to be a little clumsy?
- Financially + mentally / psychologically, how much do you value the peace of mind of knowing you're covered? How much would it "hurt" (financially and mentally) if you didn't have AC and had to basically replace your Mac with a new one, in the low probability chance something happened?
Lot of factors for when it might make more sense than not. At the end of the day, it's insurance, Apple "makes money on it" in the long-run over big sample size... that doesn't mean in won't be worth of it for you in certain scenarios. But as far as insurance goes, I think Apple is the best at servicing / treating their AC customers right.
Unlike almost every other extended warranty-like insurance, where with any claim, the insurance folks are looking for any reason they could deny your claim, I find Apple does the opposite, and tries to do everything they can to approve your claim.
A few of the considerations that I think factor into the decision:
- Is it a newer model refresh / generation? (First year of new model, eg. 2021 MBPs, M4 iPad Pros with Tandem Oled screens) May make sense more than usual to be covered in this case, as we get a better sense for whether a model generation is glitchy/prone to issues (eg. butterfly keyboards in the 2016-2020 MBP generation)
- Is it a more expensive / spec'd out version? (eg. ram, storage upgrades)? AC pricing is interesting in that it's the same within a model type (eg. 16" MBP, or 15" MBA). So within all 16" MBPs for example, AC is same price regardless if it's the base model, or a hugely upgraded version that's >2x the price. All things equal, with higher $ configs, AC is a lower cost as % of brand new... makes more sense more often
- Do you have kids in the home that run around / knock stuff over? Are you going to be taking your Mac around a lot / travel with it, or will it just sit on a desk?
- Do you tend to be a little clumsy?
- Financially + mentally / psychologically, how much do you value the peace of mind of knowing you're covered? How much would it "hurt" (financially and mentally) if you didn't have AC and had to basically replace your Mac with a new one, in the low probability chance something happened?
Lot of factors for when it might make more sense than not. At the end of the day, it's insurance, Apple "makes money on it" in the long-run over big sample size... that doesn't mean in won't be worth of it for you in certain scenarios. But as far as insurance goes, I think Apple is the best at servicing / treating their AC customers right.
Unlike almost every other extended warranty-like insurance, where with any claim, the insurance folks are looking for any reason they could deny your claim, I find Apple does the opposite, and tries to do everything they can to approve your claim.
AppleCare isn't worth it but it's worth it for people who purposely sit on their MacBook and throw it down the stairs.
There's no instance where I'd buy it on a phone, iPad or Apple Watch I always save my previous device just in case something happens. I wasn't buying it on computers either until the display controller on my 2022 MBA went on the blink. Luckily it was still within the standard coverage period. I decided after that, computers get AC.
A bit harsh but yeh, I tend to agree... on all Apple devices other than the silicon MBA's and MBP's.
The displays are so thin that I bet failure and damage rates are higher on them than any past models.
I would not pay for it on a new or Apple site refurb... tend to snipe ones where the original owner forked out extra to get the coverage.
Life is unpredictable and filled with oopsie daisies, a little insurance can go a long way. I have Apple Care on all my devices.