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AppleCare+ is getting too expensive. I can't remember the last time I bought AppleCare+. Every time I've had hardware failure it was usually in the first year. And my credit card extends manufacturer's warranty by an extra year.
 
Apple gotta collect that rent! It’s interesting. I have long thought that adding AppleCare to the cost of most Apple device purchases wipes out the value proposition. So much so that I now only buy AppleCare for my iPhone. I think my next strategy will be to buy less expensive phones (like the SE) and forego AppleCare completely.
 
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It’s been a subscription all along, just that you got a discount for the first 2 years and then you get reminders that it will expire and you have the option to go month to month.
I have done that for several of my purchases, so not getting the initial discount is a bummer but pricing is going up for everything in life.
 
Better for the buyer in the case of portable devices, as it doesn’t put a fixed limit on how long battery replacements are covered.
 
Do I want to pay ONLY another $xx.xx/month for yet another service I may never use? No, I don't think so. The plan doesn't end with you signing up for monthly payments. What will happen at the end of the warranty period, you will have to manually cancel to avoid being automatically renewed. That's the subscription model that every tech company seems to have realized is a cash cow.
 
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Subscriptions mean that you spend money that you have not earned yet. Unless you already reserve the full amount of money for the two years.

Apple is evil. First they charge those ridiculously high repair fees and then they give you the option to pay $199 up front or $9.99 per month to make those repairs cheaper or free. That is pure blacklmail.
 
AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $9.99 per month, or $199 upfront for two years. The latter option would no longer be available at Apple's stores.
so a sneaky 20% price increase then + people forgetting and letting it keep going.

$240 vs $199
 
I wonder how much this will motivate more people to buy from 3rd party sellers like Amazon and Best Buy who may, in addition to Apple Care+, offer a 3rd party insurance provider option?

I think I got an All State policy on one of our gadgets, because it looked like a better value proposition.
 
The worst thing about this (I believe this is true, but could totally be wrong) is when you sell a machine with Apple Care. If it's an up-front purchase, you are able to transfer the remainder of the warranty to the buyer & they can extend it month-to-month once the two years (or whatever) is up. If it's already on month-to-month, as I understand it, there is no way (short of the original purchaser continuing to pay monthly) for the apple care to remain in effect after the sale to the new owner.
 
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I wish they would change the AirPods policy since it still expires after 2 years with no option to renew. That’s around the time batteries die, headbands stretch out, etc…
 
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I wish they would change the AirPods policy since it still expires after 2 years with no option to renew. That’s around the time batteries die, headbands stretch out, etc…
That’s exactly why you can’t extend coverage beyond two years. AppleCare is profitable for Apple and the company intends to keep it that way. They want you to buy a new set of AirPods. With AppleCare coverage, of course.
 
iPhone sales have either zero growth or negative growth for 4yrs. Altho the sales won't fall off the cliff for maybe 4yrs.
This is one of the ways to boost rev the other is to boost sales in 3rd world countries cashing on name recognition. U can see this in qtr results.
Reality is phones r rapidly changing and Apple will never keep up coz of lack of tech leadership and it only gets worse if the rate of change doesn't slow down.
 
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Read up on your credit card benefits. I have six credit cards. One of them — The Chase Freedom Unlimited — adds a full year of warranty to my purchases. So I always use that card for anything Apple, because it adds a free year of warranty. Yes, it’s only warranty and not accident/loss, but it’s still a free year of warranty. And I’ve used it before. They pay.
 
The first yr is covered by sales warranty and now gorilla glass armor 2 which is on s24 can withstand drops of 7 ft onto concrete. All the new phones are going to have that soon. Or just have a snug case I have never got extra warranty and now the batteries can improve with things like battery bypass
 
Apple probably wants to cut out the overhead cost of canceling the paid upfront plans. When I cancel a plan, I talk with at least two and sometimes three Apple team members and it takes 20-30 minutes.
 
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