Seeing as I'm likely to keep this for a few years. .is it worth having apple care+? Anybody take it out for the watch?
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Do you have apple care+ for your apple watch?
- Thread starter The Game 161
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I usually skip extended and "accident" warranties, but in the case of the Apple Watch Sport I bought I figured the additional $50 for Apple Care + was worth it... mostly because of how exposed a watch is. My iPhone 6 is protected by a case and it also spends most of its time in a bag or pocket (especially now that I don't need to get it out as often), but the watch is always out there (I suppose my shirt or jacket sleeves might offer some protection).
It's a first version and we don't know how well it will hold up to being worn on a wrist 15 to 18 hours a day, 365 days a year. That increases the odds of accidental damage happening some time during the two years of coverage that Apple Care + provides. So far I have knocked the watch into a couple of walls and other hard surfaces. I have also caught it on the edge of a few things as I was pulling my arm away. No damage yet, but whenever it happens I think to myself "got lucky that time."
I think if you wear the watch during rough manual labor or while engaging in sports or other activities with a potential for contact or submersion, definitely get Apple Care +. If you don't do these things then it's a matter of how risk-averse you are. When you factor in purchasing Apple Care + AND the replacement fee... that's $120 of insurance for a watch I paid $350 for. If my watch gets ruined from an accident, then I basically get a replacement at 1/3 the price. If I never need it, then I'm just out $50. I'm okay with that.
Sean
It's a first version and we don't know how well it will hold up to being worn on a wrist 15 to 18 hours a day, 365 days a year. That increases the odds of accidental damage happening some time during the two years of coverage that Apple Care + provides. So far I have knocked the watch into a couple of walls and other hard surfaces. I have also caught it on the edge of a few things as I was pulling my arm away. No damage yet, but whenever it happens I think to myself "got lucky that time."
I think if you wear the watch during rough manual labor or while engaging in sports or other activities with a potential for contact or submersion, definitely get Apple Care +. If you don't do these things then it's a matter of how risk-averse you are. When you factor in purchasing Apple Care + AND the replacement fee... that's $120 of insurance for a watch I paid $350 for. If my watch gets ruined from an accident, then I basically get a replacement at 1/3 the price. If I never need it, then I'm just out $50. I'm okay with that.
Sean
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..for the price of a sport band, yes. I added it after a week of ownership, prior to vacation.
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Never purchased AC+ on any of my Apple devices and I have had many.
I felt like the phone was more in "harms way" and gladly paid for AC+. It was a bargain just due to the express exchange feature!
I felt like the phone was more in "harms way" and gladly paid for AC+. It was a bargain just due to the express exchange feature!
Sean,
I agree with you but I go a bit further in buying AC. Places like Verizon (and other carriers), Best Buy, Microcenter and others offer "replacement plans" through insurance outfits like Asurian and they not only come with hefty fees but mediocre to poor customer service.
I compare the difference between warranties to the difference between a local amusement park and Disney World. You get rides and food in both types of parks but you know at Disney you will be (almost always) treated like royalty.
For this sort of reasoning, I get AppleCare on every "portable" bit of Apple gear I buy and I never pay for insurance to Verizon, At&t, Microcenter, Best Buy, etc. I've bought AC on my MBP, my kids' MBPs, my kids' iPhones, my iPhone 6, (but not my iPad of which I've had 3 which have proven to be basically indestructible), and lastly my Apple Watch.
Let's look at an example how I've been treated. I was shelling out $7 per month per line for Asurian coverage to Verizon only to find out it only covered 2 replacements at $50 each on phones that were flip phones and basically free with contract. When my daughter's phone broke the third time, we were told we'd have to start a new 2 year hitch to get it replaced. Luckily none of us were under contract at the time. Bad move Verizon... This is when my wife finally swung over to my side and agreed that we drop Verizon like a cold turd and go to At&t so we could all have iPhones. (Yes this predated the ability to get iPhone on Verizon).
Now let's consider how I've been treated by Apple. My son spilled beer (or something) on his MBP keyboard and while it was still usable the keys were horribly sticky. We went to the Apple store to get it looked at and we weren't laughed out of the place. We got a $900 main board replacement for "customer relations" reasons under Applecare. And I've heard that this isn't an isolated incident and others have had "dubious" MBP repairs under AC as well though it isn't guaranteed they will cover accidental damage. When I had trouble with the "free" iPod touch I got when I bought that MBP, the guy in my local Apple store spent 15 minutes with a microscope trying to prove I'd dunked the thing in liquid. Happily this wasn't the end of the story as when I called AppleCare they replaced it for free. My kids' cracked screens on their iPhones have been replaced as well. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? To me yes it is. I value AppleCare mainly because I know that excellent customer service (almost always) comes with it. I haven't had one little bitty problem with my Apple Watch but AC on my MBP has allowed me to call AC whenever the mood strikes and with all the changes to my customary workflow going from Tiger to Leopard, etc to Yosemite you better believe I've taken advantage of it. In fact if you read the bug lists for OSX 10.5.x, for several of them I see verbatim quotes of issues I worked through with AC that they said they would pass along to Apple engineering. Now that I realize I use my MBP mainly as a desktop, I'll probably skip AC when I eventually replace it with a Retina MBP but AC is contagious so if you own one bit of Apple Gear, you can call them about it and talk through problems even if you discovered the issue on a different (but similar) product you own that has long since gone out of AC. I got a Time Capsule replaced because I was using it with a Macbook that was still under AC.
I realize this is only anecdotal evidence from my family, but I will continue to buy AC on new Apple gear for the foreseeable future if I can afford it and I also think there is a risk of it either breaking after warranty or falling down the stairs or over the rail at Niagara Falls.
Cheers for the advice
Would be spending like £600 on the watch so might as well spend the extra £60
Would be spending like £600 on the watch so might as well spend the extra £60
Ok, I'll offer up the opposing viewpoint. The likelihood of a phone dropping is far higher than a watch dropping, the watch is attached to your body. The likelihood of a the crystal hitting something and getting scratched is far higher with the watch than a phone. So with the watch what you are really protecting against is scratching the crystal. Replacement cost under apple care+ is $80 plus the cost of the warranty which is $70 or $150 total to insure against a $239 crystal replacement cost. You are paying $150 to possibly save $80. That seems like the most expensive insurance I've ever seen.
I'd be more likely to buy it if i bought the sport version because the screen is not as durable. I've owned a Rado watch for 26 years that has a crystal screen on it and it looks like the day I received it.
Just some counterpoints to consider.
I'd be more likely to buy it if i bought the sport version because the screen is not as durable. I've owned a Rado watch for 26 years that has a crystal screen on it and it looks like the day I received it.
Just some counterpoints to consider.
I agree that I feel much better purchasing premium support directly from the manufacturer rather than from a third party, especially when you read many positive endorsements of the manufacturer's support. That makes Apple Care + doubly good to have for a first generation product!
Sean
I have the SS with sapphire screen and took out Apple Care+. Haven't needed it so far but figure I'll keep the watch for at least the two years of coverage, especially being I have the more expensive case and screen. I take off my watch and right now put it on the stand which is in a tiled room. So every day there is at least the chance of it falling accidentally twice each day. I never thought I would swing my arm in normal walking and hit anything but I have! (duh) and no damage to date but clearly there's a chance of that happening especially when you are carrying something in your arms and bump into something. Now I'm finding my husband is asking to borrow my watch almost regularly now when he goes on his walks so who knows what he does. Honestly for me the extra cost now makes it worth avoiding the added possible expense later. It's insurance and probably better placed insurance on the watch than on my wedding ring for example.
As for the comment above about more likelihood of dropping the phone than the watch, I can see that except I do have a case on my phone and not on my watch. I want to keep the beautiful clean sleek lines of the SS watch just as they are so won't ever add a cover to it. I also feel good in entrusting my Watch to Apple for repair when and if it needs it than to anyone else.
As for the comment above about more likelihood of dropping the phone than the watch, I can see that except I do have a case on my phone and not on my watch. I want to keep the beautiful clean sleek lines of the SS watch just as they are so won't ever add a cover to it. I also feel good in entrusting my Watch to Apple for repair when and if it needs it than to anyone else.
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They would have given you a day's grace if you called in. Did you try?
I pondered purchasing AC+ and missed the 60 day period by a day. Sadly no AppleCare+ this time around
I Definitely bought it for my watch although the Sapphire looks brand new and its been smacked around a lot... I always buy applecare on any product except for my iMac just because it doesn't move anywhere. And it came in handy today actually... I know sorta unrelated but they just replaced my iPhone 6 plus bc of lines running on the screen.
For me 
Care+ is a no brainer on any Kit that I buy.
To those who say that the watch is strapped to your wrist so you don't need AC+ think of this. You have to strap it to your wrist and what is under it at the time you're doing the strapping? I dropped a SS Watch with a Milanese Loop on it in an Store while doing my try on. Lucky the store had a wooden floor so no harm was done. But what would have been the result if the floor was cement or tile? Many people take their watch off while washing their hands. What happens if the floor where you do this is tile? Think of the people who use 3rd party bands who have to buckle them over a stone floor.
No Care + is well worth the money.
Care+ is a no brainer on any Kit that I buy. To those who say that the watch is strapped to your wrist so you don't need AC+ think of this. You have to strap it to your wrist and what is under it at the time you're doing the strapping? I dropped a SS
Watch with a Milanese Loop on it in an Store while doing my try on. Lucky the store had a wooden floor so no harm was done. But what would have been the result if the floor was cement or tile? Many people take their watch off while washing their hands. What happens if the floor where you do this is tile? Think of the people who use 3rd party bands who have to buckle them over a stone floor.No
Care + is well worth the money.