Apple charges 2X more to fix a Steel Watch as the same aluminium one
support.apple.com
support.apple.com
The biggest atrocity would be the poor folks who spent $10k+ on the original 24k gold Apple Watch Edition Series 0.
They are now stuck with an incredibly slow unit that’s locked to WatchOS 4.
I get that it’s a fashion thing; I mostly own a Watch as a fashion statement - but even with the extra income to afford it - I just could never imagine choosing to.
AppleCare+ Warranty for Watch Edition is also 3 years (albeit more expensive to buy) and for when it does get damaged, being able to get a new one for reasonable “in warranty” costs is something I value. I believe AppleCare+ for the others is 2 years, but their new monthly plans might support going >24 months before you’re entirely out of warranty?
I didn’t do Edition in the Series 0 timeframe because $10k is ludicrous but the Aluminum vs. Titanium costs are much closer with Series 7.
My wifes Series 2 lasted a few years with minimal scratching, she got a Series 5 and the face is basically ruined after a year and a bit. It is SO bad.
Sapphire is more expensive than chemically strengthened glass.
Incidentally the initial working title for the UK science fiction series bearing that name was "The Time Menders" :-)
If you are spending $10k on a 24k gold watch, I would contend two things are true:
1: You are not poor and can afford to upgrade
2: You are more interested in the display of wealth than the functionality that it has
the great thing about expensive watches is that nobody notices or recognizes them, in favor of fawning or expressing disdain over the medium tier brand that they heard in a rap song
From what you’re saying, it doesn’t look like it. Fashion trends are not meant to be sensible. Plenty of people throw money at stuff they can’t afford. Look at poor people wearing Supreme and Prada.
If I buy a 10k watch it’s because it’s in my budget and will probably buy another one later or replace it with a Rolex.
What surprised me is for the exact same internals, they will charge you substantially more to fix it depending on the case material.
Aluminium is the cheapest at about £150. Steel costs just over £300 and if you were foolish enough to opt for ceramic, that will be £750.
To fix the exact same thing!
I call foul play.
Definitely something to bear in mind when buying one though.
Apple does sell refurbished watches, so it's probably that it's cheaper and more efficient to just grab a new Apple Watch from a box, give it to the customer and throw the old one in the refurbished parts bin. You also don't need a local shop to do repairs since the customer isn't waiting angrily to get their device back, so you can just bulk ship them to some central place.
You’re getting a new Apple Watch.
Should a processor upgrade cost more because my case has led lights and a glass door?
Seems fine by me?
If you're sure the software update was what killed your watch, you should demand nothing less than a new replacement watch, at no additional cost to you.
It’s unfair to take that large profit over again on a ‘repair’ where their hardware is the thing at fault.
The internals stopped working, not the case, so they should replace at the cost of the internals. They can keep the case materials if they really are so valuable.
1. Buy the cheapest premium device plus one minor upgrade (more storage etc) as that has the lowest total depreciation.
2. Get AppleCare and pay up front
3. Sell it the moment the AppleCare runs out on eBay. Don’t part exchange it.
4. Your monthly TCO is the sticker price plus AppleCare minus the sale price all divided by the months you owned it.
Make sure all the costly events are someone else’s problem.
I’m running a whole stack of apple devices with little incidental cost if anything happens and lowest overall ownership.
Edit: keep one iphone back which isn’t yet entirely obsolete if you need a backup. Still got a working 6s here.
If you destroy the device a day before AppleCare runs out you can swap it for a brand new one, easier to sell.
I’ve had no problems selling anything yet either. Usually goes within 6 hours here at a well inflated price.
I bought an iPhone 12 December 2019 and decided to swap it out for a 13 pro a couple of weeks back for the camera improvements. Apple accidentally refunded the entire AppleCare cost and I sold it for £190 less than I paid for it. So TCO was £16 a month.
Also, doesn’t applecare+ cover scratches and dents anyway? They’d probably swap out a perfectly functional phone over minor damage if you insist, never tried that though.
The iPhone SE is indestructible, I have a few of them. Never managed to break one.
I buy a second hand last generation Apple device from someone that comes with a year of AppleCare or warranty. I then sell that device and repeat every year or so.
AppleCare does not add THAT much value to devices sold on my local aftermarket, so you get a deal on it.