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Jacoblee23

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 10, 2011
1,474
717
i just got a series one a few days ago and need to make a decision before 60 days and can't make up my mind. My first gen aluminumsport got some dings on it and it hurt my resell value a bit. What do you guys think?
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,491
i just got a series one a few days ago and need to make a decision before 60 days and can't make up my mind. My first gen aluminumsport got some dings on it and it hurt my resell value a bit. What do you guys think?

I always think Apple Care is a good idea. Especially when wearing an Apple Watch and the unfortunate mishaps that can occur. Ulimately, if you are one who is somewhat harder with property you own, then I would suggest it. It pays for itself for accidents or what have you.
 

PhillyGuy72

macrumors 68040
Sep 13, 2014
3,032
4,438
Philadelphia, PA USA
Yeah I think it is, it's worth the piece of mind! It's a watch, you're going to expose this a lot more compared to an iPhone. It will be much more susceptible to accidentally banging it into something..a door, wall, the Apple Sport Ion glass face is easier to scratch compared to the more expensive sapphire glass on Apple Watch. Plus I have seen in other posts on the forum that screens popped off, the back sensor came loose. It stinks, might be rare...but it happens..a "bad batch" perhaps?

I bought it for my Sport..but for even more added protection, yeah I did place a Zagg screen protector on it (I've seen opinions against it) Personally, that screen protector alone saved me from a few potential screen gouges. I've been lucky to keep the Space Gray case in decent shape for almost 2 years.

ALSO, make sure your charging puck is smooth and dust free when you charge the Sport. This was the only issue I had with mine. After 3 weeks of owning it, I noticed some tiny micro scratching on the back sensor. This was simply because I had dust, some particles on the darn puck.

When I placed it this charging tower I bought, gravity kicked in, watch moved a tad..the dust scratched the Apple Watch back sensor. Didn't destroy it or cause issues..just left annoying fine scratches enough to tick me off.

Good luck!
 

jbachandouris

macrumors 603
Aug 18, 2009
5,778
2,905
Upstate NY
It is absolutely worth it. If you break the screen, the repair cost is almost as much as a new watch.

The other advantage to AppleCare+? The option for advance exchange. Without AppleCare+, if your watch needs service, it is mailed back to Apple and you get it back repaired (hopefully) in 3-5 days.

With advance exchange, you give them a CC number for them to put a hold on. They send you a new (refurbished) watch and THEN send yours back. One they receive yours, the hold comes off you credit card.
 

blindside217

macrumors regular
Mar 16, 2012
156
56
I think it is worth it for the Apple Watch and the iPad because if you crack the screen or get any damage, they only offer whole unit replacement which costs at least $199 for the watch and $299 for iPads. For iPhone, they offer screen replacements for around $99 so it is a tougher call there.
 

worker73

macrumors regular
May 4, 2015
127
58
I went ahead a got the Applecare even though I wan't entirely sure it was worth it. Time will tell though I suppose.
 

JackieInCo

Suspended
Jul 18, 2013
5,178
1,601
Colorado
I bought AC for all my watches. It's the only Apple device that I have ever felt it was needed just because the display sticks out of the watch and i is so easy to bump on hard surfaces. As mentioned above, time will tell if that was a good decision but it was cheap enough to not worry about.
 

MacDevil7334

Contributor
Oct 15, 2011
2,527
5,717
Austin TX
As a general rule, I don't buy extended warranties. But I did spring for it in this case for my SS. Even with the sapphire screen, I knew I'd still be bumping it against things by accident, especially since I do boot camp style workouts with it three times a week. And I didn't want to be worried about the watch every time that happened. After throwing down $600, an extra $50 wasn't a hard pill to swallow for extra peace of mind. I don't do AppleCare for any of my other devices since they mostly stay in my pocket or on a desk. I know accidents happen but the cost of AppleCare for these other devices relative to the cost of the devices themselves doesn't make it a particularly good deal.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,491
As a general rule, I don't buy extended warranties. But I did spring for it in this case for my SS. Even with the sapphire screen, I knew I'd still be bumping it against things by accident, especially since I do boot camp style workouts with it three times a week. And I didn't want to be worried about the watch every time that happened. After throwing down $600, an extra $50 wasn't a hard pill to swallow for extra peace of mind. I don't do AppleCare for any of my other devices since they mostly stay in my pocket or on a desk. I know accidents happen but the cost of AppleCare for these other devices relative to the cost of the devices themselves doesn't make it a particularly good deal.

I can appreciate your logic and your workouts! I typically don't do AppleCare for my other products, but I do for the Apple Watch, being how easily a Watch can get damaged unintentionally. That's the one product I would suggest AppleCare for.
 
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Payton34

macrumors regular
Sep 10, 2014
148
191
Chicago, IL
Definitely worth it. I had a Series 1 that was close to a year out of warranty (no Apple Care purchased). Somehow the entire face of the watch detached (still no idea how this happened) but instead of paying just $49 to get a replacement watch, I decided to get a Series 2 ceramic watch as the cost to replace my watch would have been $269.

Basically Apple Care is worth it for the watch because Apple can only do 2 things with the watch, replace the battery or replace the watch. I would definitely get it.
 

317342

Cancelled
May 21, 2009
785
569
AppleCare is probably the only extended warranty/insurance I ever buy. I have it on my  Watch, MBP, etc.
 

Ixidor

macrumors regular
Mar 22, 2016
161
116
I have never bought Apple Care+ for any Apple device before (and I've owned several). Honestly, if I have bought Apple Care for every single device I have owned, the total cost would have far exceeded the repair cost of any single device.

At this point, I've never had to repair any Apple products I've owned but I have been fortunate in that I have dropped iPhones and iPads without breaking the screen. Tempered glass screen protectors help a lot (the glass protectors would crack as it absorbs the impact and distributes the stresses across the iPhone/iPad screen, thus minimising the chance of the actual screen cracking). I don't use screen protectors on my Apple Watches though, don't like how it looks.

If you are in an environment where you are prone to hitting your Apple Watch against something hard, then perhaps it is worth it. Unlike in regular insurance where premium may scale depending on your risk as a customer, Apple Care pricing is standard for everyone. So whether it is worth it or not, is dependent on your own risk factor (i.e. how likely are you to break an Apple Watch).

As for battery repair, doesn't Apple only replace it under Apple Care if its capacity is below a certain capacity? Do people normally lose the specified capacity within the time frame of an Apple Care? This might make it worth it.
 

Coffee50

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2015
865
477
I always try & get apple care+. I just factor it in the price before.

One of the cool things is, & I don't know any people take advantage of it (at least with the phone) Is that you can get a refund (or gift card if you prefer) for any unused apple care. I update my phone yearly, so although I pay for 2 years, I don't use 2 years, so I get 50% of it back.
 
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maka344

macrumors 68020
Nov 4, 2009
2,128
1,307
London, UK
I always try & get apple care+. I just factor it in the price before.

One of the cool things is, & I don't know any people take advantage of it (at least with the phone) Is that you can get a refund (or gift card if you prefer) for any unused apple care. I update my phone yearly, so although I pay for 2 years, I don't use 2 years, so I get 50% of it back.

This is what I do, ends up costing just half - so a couple of express replacements and it's paid for itself.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,491
AppleCare is a MUST for all devices!!

I agree AppleCare is a great ad on for those who want and need it. But I certainly don't believe it's a "Must". It really depends on how you treat your devices or what you use your devices for.

Based off my experiences, I have never added AppleCare to any of my devices except with the Apple Watch, mainly being What the Watch can be exposed to inadvertent damage.

Again, I think it really varies on the user and how they treat their devices for AppleCare. But AppleCare also serves for those accidental mistakes, which can happen to the best of us. But with all my Apple devices, I have never had AppleCare and never had any issues.
 

AndrewR23

Contributor
Jun 24, 2010
4,548
1,721
Agree with relentless.

I have never used AppleCare except for my watch. I've always worn watches and always bump them into things. Plus AppleCare is only 49$ for the watch which is a good deal imo.

But the best part about it for me is express replacements. They only do them if you have ac+ for the watch. I always do express replacement if I can Bc I hate. Hate. Hate. The Apple Store. Lol
 

JackieInCo

Suspended
Jul 18, 2013
5,178
1,601
Colorado
It's a must for the watch but anything else Apple makes, besides my Mac Mini, I have never bought AC for any other device I have ever owned from Apple.

I only bought AC for my Mac Mini because it was so cheap and it expires in September. I have never needed to use it to this date so when September gets here, I will have wasted that $99. I have n doubt that I will not need to use AC on that Mini in the short time remaining.

I've never had a MBP, iMac or even a Mac Pro fail me or need a repair. My iPhones/iPods/iPads have also been perfect in every way all the years I have owned them.
 

have24

macrumors newbie
Sep 14, 2016
22
14
I paid ~$175 for my Series 1 42mm (thanks Target). It comes with a 1-year warranty already from Apple that if something were to happen such as a software malfunction or such that I would get a replacement (refurbished nonetheless).

Apple care costs $50 for the watch and that gets me 2-year's of warranty plus 2 accident claims. Yay! I get another year of warranty to make sure nothing is going to happen with my watch (although I would argue that most manufacturer errors on products tend to occur early in their life-cycle). And now I also get 2 accident claims so if I bash my wrist against something at work and shatter the screen I can now get it repaired. Oh wait that accident claim is going to cost me $70? So for $120 (cost of Apple Care plus accident claim) I can get my watch repaired. So $120 out of the original $175 it cost me is 69% of the original cost. That $120 would go a long way towards buying me another Apple Watch (albeit the inexpensive one). Now say you bought the Apple Watch Edition Ceramic one at $1250 before tax...$120 out of $1250 is less than 10% of the original cost so I could easily justify it then.

Therefore I did not buy Apple Care but also understand that everyone is different. I work in an industry where we use our hands a lot to work on machinery so do run a higher chance of getting it dinged up. If I think I'm in a high-risk situation I'll probably just take it off.
 

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2012
1,827
652
No, not worth the cost considering the watch will be obsolete within a few years, anyway.
 

JSway

macrumors 6502
Sep 9, 2016
258
140
I purchased it for my SBSS. One claim with the cost of AC is cheaper than the out of warranty replacement.

It also allows me a peace of mind when it comes to using the Watch for working out, hiking, etc.
 

noteple

macrumors 68000
Aug 30, 2011
1,505
523
If the Apple warranty won't gamble that the an expensive item like a watch will last longer than a year, why would you ?
AppleCare is like a subscription or lease fee that guarantees another year with your precious.
Anything past that is gravy and a precursor to an upgrade.
It buys you a greatly reduced accident claims when you tempt fate.
Express replacement makes sure a working device is in your hand before you part with your defective one.
 
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