It never hurts to ask, but Apple policy is not to replace it if it's not covered by warranty or AppleCare. Some Apple reps have been known to bend the rules, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
The "Service Battery" indicator appears when there is a problem with the battery, but it also appears when your battery health drops below 80%. That doesn't mean you have to replace the battery right away. As long as the battery still holds sufficient charge you meet your needs, you can continue using it below 80% health.
I agree with most of that but if they make a claim that it will last to 1000 charges at 80% then they should back that claim. Not cop out by saying it is a consumable(which it is). I used the computer as dictated by apple. I didn't keep it plugged in all the time and used it off the battery often. I should also mention it started dropping in capacity rapidly over the past couple of months. It went from saying 79% health to 52% in a matter of weeks. Only 10 charge cycles were completed in this time period.
They do back that claim, but only under warranty/AppleCare coverage. No manufacturer guarantees its products forever. That's why warranties and extended warranties exist. It's not Apple's fault your coverage has expired.
The "Service Battery" warning appears when the health drops below 80%, even if nothing else is wrong with the battery. Replace it when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs, or if it starts swelling.
Apple makes no restrictions on time frame for reaching 1000 cycles, other than the warranty/AppleCare requirement.
No, they're not lying. Like any company, Apple's warranty claims requires the warranty to be in effect for them to be honored. You don't have to reach 1000 cycles within the 1 or 3 year period. If your battery health drops below 80% anytime while it's covered by warranty, even if you only have 300 or 500 cycles, it's covered.
First, AppleCare isn't for people who "beat on their computers", because AppleCare doesn't cover damage from accidents or wear. It only covers manufacturing defects. Also, the choice to buy AppleCare is no different from any other extended warranty. No matter who suggests that you buy it, it's up to you to decide whether or not it's worth it to you. It doesn't matter how much you pay for a computer. They're imperfect devices made with imperfect parts, so it's inevitable they will fail at some time.
Precisely. A very small fraction of the computers that Apple sells are defective, which is inevitable when you sell over a million computers per month. Those that post in a forum are a microscopic percentage of Apple users, and they are not representative, since very few post in a forum just to say they're not having problems. Drawing conclusions about the reliability of Macs by reading a Mac forum is akin to drawing conclusions about the average health of a population by visiting a hospital.
There are no pop-ups. It's simply that the battery status shows "Service Battery" if your battery health is below 80%. That doesn't mean that the battery is unusable, as long as it still holds sufficient charge to meet your needs.
