HomePod Mini Repair Fee is Only $20 Cheaper Than Buying a New One Without AppleCare+

[MacRumors]

Ahead of the HomePod mini launching next week, Apple has revealed that it will charge a fee of $79 to service the speaker for customers without AppleCare+ coverage. This is only $20 cheaper than buying an entirely new HomePod mini for $99.

By comparison, AppleCare+ for the HomePod mini involves a $15 upfront cost and an additional $15 per-incident fee for up to two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months. Ultimately, if you damage your HomePod mini and need it serviced, it will cost you $30 with AppleCare+ or $79 without in the United States.

While many customers may find AppleCare+ unnecessary for the HomePod mini, those with pets or young children may want to consider purchasing coverage.

HomePod mini pre-orders began November 6, and the speaker launches Monday, November 16.

Article Link: HomePod Mini Repair Fee is Only $20 Cheaper Than Buying a New One Without AppleCare+

 

[Brian Y]

Sorry, but this is absolute bull pricing.

 

[miniyou64]

Apple is making some very stupid decisions lately. They used to be premium products because they worked flawlessly. Now they’re just over priced. This device’s value proposition is Siri. Siri gets worse every iteration and I hear it’s even more terrible on HomePod. No buy

 

[gnasher729]

Lots of people have speakers that last forever. Mine are a bit over thirty years old and working just fine. Unless you are stupid and throw your HomePods around there's no reason they shouldn't last for many years. And in the EU, UK, and Australia, Apple will have to fix problems for at least two years. If it lasts for two years, then it doesn't have any faults and will last forever.

So I wouldn't buy AppleCare, and don't worry about it. If it breaks after five years, chances are you will replace your HomePod with a new model that is better and cheaper.

 

[G4DPII]

Ha ha ha, what a crock! So Apple are now basically telling it's customers it's better value for money to buy a new product rather than get it repaired.

So much for caring for the environment.

 

[bobmans]

How do you even break a homepod mini except for cutting the power cord?

 

[joelhinch]

How do you even break a homepod mini except for cutting the power cord?

Wifi died on one of my regular HomePods after 12 months. Rendering it a brick.

 

[iBear080]

So much for the environment

 

[ckater]

Lots of people have speakers that last forever. Mine are a bit over thirty years old and working just fine. Unless you are stupid and throw your HomePods around there's no reason they shouldn't last for many years. And in the EU, UK, and Australia, Apple will have to fix problems for at least two years. If it lasts for two years, then it doesn't have any faults and will last forever.

Du you really think they will work in the ecosystem more than 5-7 years?

 

[Alfredo_Delgado]

Alternate Title: Apple Will Sell You A Refurbished HomePod Mini

 

[darthbane2k]

Not sure I care. The notion of buying insurance for a mini smart speaker is absurd.

 

[KrisLord]

Some of the comments here are rather comical.
How much time and effort would it cost to fix a HomePod mini?


Ithe exterior fabric is damaged, do they have an option to replace that in store? What about the internal parts?

The fact that there’s an upfront price for any repair is pretty good. The fact that it costs 80% of the cost of the product simply shows that replacing key parts of the product isn’t as simple as some people would like.

It could also suggest that Apple have priced the product itself rather competitive. I doubt we’d have these same complaints if the repair was $79 but new ones were $149

 

[ouimetnick]

That’s because they don’t repair them. They replace them and recycle the old one.

 

[James Godfrey]

It’s the exact same with the HomePod £268.44 here in the UK for out of warranty repair a mere £10.56 off the price of a new one.

HomePod Mini repair is £86.44 a mere £12.56 off the price of a new one.

However many places here regularly sell the regular one for around £200 in the sale.

The reason for the steep repair price is because they can’t repair them, by design there is no way to get to the internals without damaging the exterior, meaning any repair will just result in a new replacement.

 

[Brian Y]

Some of the comments here are rather comical.
How much time and effort would it cost to fix a HomePod mini?


Ithe exterior fabric is damaged, do they have an option to replace that in store? What about the internal parts?

The fact that there’s an upfront price for any repair is pretty good. The fact that it costs 80% of the cost of the product simply shows that replacing key parts of the product isn’t as simple as some people would like.

It could also suggest that Apple have priced the product itself rather competitive. I doubt we’d have these same complaints if the repair was $79 but new ones were $149

But Apple is claiming to be environmentally friendly. If your power cord gets damaged, it's a whole new unit. If the fabric rips, it's a whole new unit. Cable inside becomes loose... guess what? Whole new unit!

But don't worry, the ice caps are doing good because we didn't get a charger with our new iPhones.

 

[dwaltwhit]

This is less about apple and more about consumer electronics writ large; everything is disposable because a new one is cheaper than the time and effort to repair

 

[PsykX]

Do speakers really ever break?
It never happened to me.
So I wouldn't bother with that.

If it breaks in 10 years, I'll just buy the HomePod Mini 5th gen in 2030...

 

[MauiPa]

Apple is making some very stupid decisions lately. They used to be premium products because they worked flawlessly. Now they’re just over priced. This device’s value proposition is Siri. Siri gets worse every iteration and I hear it’s even more terrible on HomePod. No buy

you hear wrong. Siri is awesome gets way better not worse.

 

[sracer]

I see this move as simply the next step in the evolution of Apple's marketing and pricing. Offer a lower MSRP + hike up the out-of-warranty repair costs = more AppleCare buy-in. This is the primary reason why Apple is fighting against the right-to-repair movement.

 

[insomniac86]

This is less about apple and more about consumer electronics writ large; everything is disposable because a new one is cheaper than the time and effort to repair

It's a sad world.

 

[MauiPa]

Sorry, but this is absolute bull pricing.

Sounds like most of the unit gets replaced if bad. Almost impossible to fix cheaper things after labor costs anyway. I guess if you only paid minimum wage, but really? A shop would want at least $80 an hour, so it could be fixed in 30 minutes?

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

Wow, much value such bargin!

 

[calstanford]

And when you buy a new one you can keep your first Homepod's 20W charger to use it for charging your iPhone or iPad - a $20 value on it's own.

 

[MauiPa]

I see this move as simply the next step in the evolution of Apple's marketing and pricing. Offer a lower MSRP + hike up the out-of-warranty repair costs = more AppleCare buy-in. This is the primary reason why Apple is fighting against the right-to-repair movement.

that is not well thought out. unless a product is easy to open, and has user serviceable parts that go bad, the repair is irrelevant. If you had to open it and replace the main board? probably time for a new one anyway. Not much goes wrong with silicon these days, speakers are enclosed pretty well, what are you expecting to have to repair the garfinculator?

 

[MauiPa]

what is the repair cost of a google mini? opps, just replace it