Apple introduces AppleCare One | Hacker News Reader

Apple introduces AppleCare One

apple.com

100 pointsingve92 comments

I looked at the numbers for this for my personal devices:

- My iPhone is currently covered by apple care with the upgrade program but it does not have loss or theft, which would be an additional $4.16 a month (normally $10 a month)

- My Mac: $3.49 a month (doesnt include loss or theft)

- My iPad: $4.99

- Apple Watch: $2.99

- 2 different airpods, $15 a year each. $30 a year total. Roughly $2.50 a month

This is not including any homepods or apple tv's since I just don't see the point.

Even ignoring the difference in price with the upgrade program the best I can get for 3 devices would be iPhone + iPad + Mac coming to $18.

The $5.99 for adding more devices is more than every device except for an iPhone outside of the upgrade program.

The only people I really see benefiting are those with Apple Vision Pro since that is $25 a month. What am I missing about their calculation for this saving money?

I got all of these numbers from this page: https://www.apple.com/applecare/

The pricing on that page is From pricing; more expensive models have more expensive premiums - see e.g. https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/applecare/applecar... says iPhone AppleCare+ costs between $7.99 and $13.99 on a monthly plan.

Higher tier devices have higher AppleCare+ costs, so a Macbook Pro + iPad Pro + iPhone Pro = just short of $300 a year, if I did the math right. Also if you're someone who travels a lot or loses things this seems slightly better.

I've personally never had AppleCare on anything (even phones).

The liquid protection is nice. I never had it either because the only thing I was worried about was liquid and I'm quite careful with that, but last year someone spilled apple juice all over my stuff and it was an expensive bill, so I started to get applecare. The other thing is I got my wifes screen replaced in the mall last year and they said they replaced it with OEM apple but no way they did, it was junk, and no way for me to prove they used something that wasn't apple.

The repair market is a pretty horrible disaster zone of stories like that. I popped a 15" MBP screen a few years back and the (£500 paid) replacement lid+screen from a third party had the ghosting problem that was a problem on those. I tried to return it but the seller disappeared. Same with batteries - never last as well as the OEM ones.

If apple put some type of hard enough to copy engraving or watermarking on their stuff, that might help a bit, or a QR code that called back to an apple server that verified it's authenticity, then I could ask the person in the mall to show me it before putting it in. Welcome to HN btw, I like your username a lot.

They do that with hardware pairing but everyone moans at them. I'd rather get genuine parts than worry about my inability to put crap parts in!

Thank you. The name was shaming me into ironing a shirt for a formal event :)

... but that's because Apple won't sell original parts to 3rd party repair shops ...

They can buy them from selfservicerepair.com which is literally the Apple official parts distribution system.

That's the one that includes 200 kg worth of tools that you have to send back?

More malicious compliance.

You don't have to use the tools. I've used it to replace a duff USB-C port on my daughter's M2 air with my own tools (which happen to be exactly the same Wera ones that they send out if you want them to)

So that's two wrong points in a row? Not sure where you're getting your information from.

Good for you. I'd prefer to pay a 3rd party repair shop of my choice to do that, and have them handle ordering the part.

I'd also like to pay just for the part, not for receiving the tools and sending them back...

I typically get AppleCare on my phone and then get a new screen and battery right before the window is up. AppleCare is cheaper than the cost of those repairs plus I have the added peace of mind that if something bad does happen I have AppleCare. I don’t renew it as part of the monthly plan though.

I also don’t use a case or screen protector on my phone fwiw

Did you say liquids ? Our senior Siamese tips over anything full of water, and that zapped the wifey's Mac.

Financially speaking, you shouldn't insure what you can afford to repair or replace, unless you're well above average risk for some reason. Of course, peace of mind is an emotional calculation that may come out differently.

Right, although repair with Apple devices is a tricky/impossible cost calculation to make. I also remember the "good old days" when you could bring an iPhone with issues into the store and likely get a replacement just by asking nicely.

They still do that. I just replaced my 15 Pro which had a speaker problem. They gave me a brand new one and migrated everything there in the store for me. 100% battery health again. No money paid. Nearly 2 years old.

I turned screws in an Apple Store in that era, circa iPhone 3G/4.

Internally that policy was called “getting to yes” and it was a huge pain in the ass.

The idea: customer comes in with a broken screen. You surprise and delight them by getting a manager’s override on the cost. You say you can make an exception because it’s the first time, but the next screen will cost x.

The reality: customer comes in expecting free repairs. Any charge is an argument. Their cousin dropped like 5 phones in the toilet and they were all replaced for free, etc. It sucked.

> Internally that policy was called “getting to yes” and it was a huge pain in the ass.

I don't remember a "getting to yes" era, especially when I brought in my old MagSafe 2 charger whose cable insulation had worn out because of the type of plastic Apple used, spilling blue stuff all over my space.

All the Genius Bars I went to (in multiple countries) gaslit and blamed it on me storing my MagSafe charger wrongly, even though this was obviously Apple's fault. I wish I could have been surprised and delighted instead.

I still have it in a plastic bag somewhere, rotting away.

The era before they became waterproof and the screens got some decent durability were, I'm sure, a nightmare. The 3G in particular was a huge ergonomic and quality downgrade from the original iPhone, I had one of those break while just sitting in my pants pocket.

That’s not how risk management works.

That's how I think about it as well. How should I be thinking about it?

For an individual it kind of is. To calculate the financial value of an insurance plan you would multiply the average cost of a claim by the probability of it occurring, and divide that by the average expected number of months until claim. For all insurance, the monthly fee is more expensive than the calculation above. This is obvious, because the insurance company needs to make a profit. This implies that no one should ever have insurance. *However,* some events are quite financially catastrophic, and the potential size of the financial burden warrants paying the premium. Examples include houses and cars. Most people can't afford to pay out of pocket if a house burns down.

In the realm of consumer electronics, why would you pay the premium if you can afford to replace the device? Unless, of course, you know you're prone to losing or breaking things.

Many insurance policies also have deductibles as an added cost if you actually need to use it making it even less valuable for things you can afford to fix/replace.

Care to elaborate? There's some wiggle room with "afford" which should make it exactly how risk management works.

What wat points out is that if you have the finances to replace a device yourself at any point in time due to an _unlikely_ event, it's just a waste to pay a third party for the insurance if _you can handle the risk yourself_.

Applecare+ for an iPhone seems to run at about 80% of the device cost over 5 years, however if you were likely to buy a new device after 5 years anyhow then short of fully losing your new devices every 2.7 years (or replacing the screen every 8 months or so) you're at a financial loss to go with the insurance compared to just buying new devices when the need arises.

> Financially speaking, you shouldn't insure what you can afford to repair or replace, unless you're well above average risk for some reason.

I know that my MacBook and phone batteries wear out (<80%) pretty quick, and a single free replacement with AppleCare would pretty much let me break even on cost.

Weird. Must be unusual, otherwise AppleCare would cost more.

i regret not getting it on my iphone bc the screen cracked and coming from android i had no idea apple would charge nearly half the price of the phone to repair it

> What am I missing about their calculation for this saving money?

It’s a psychological thing I think. People will balk at paying $400 upfront to cover their Macbook for three years but $20 per month? No problem!

That's why cable TV doesn't let you pay a lump sum up front for long-term access, I guess.

It also doesn't look like it would cover spouse/kid devices in Family.

Can I add my family’s devices to my AppleCare One plan?

AppleCare One plans can cover devices that are on the same Apple Account as the subscriber.

Adding AppleCare to older devices with degraded battery life (as I understand, you will be able to replace them for free if they fall below 80%) is a phenomenal deal, in my opinion. This also includes accidental spill coverage. You can always stop coverage when you're not using them.

> With AppleCare One, customers can now add products they already own that are up to four years old if they are in good condition.

Currently, to get AppleCare after purchase or the 90 day window, you need to go to an Apple store before the warranty expires and ask staff to add it for you. This is never advertised (to my knowledge) but well known. Now they are making it possible to add AppleCare even after warranty expires.

I hate to say this, but no other PC or mobile phone manufacturer is providing warranty service (for consumer hardware) that remotely matches Apple's.

For Macs at least, you can purchase Applecare after the fact in the System settings and they advertise this by highlighting it. As you say for 90 days or so. No apple store visit required.

Pretty sure they make it pretty prominent on the phones. Extended warranties are very profitable, they want you to buy it.

> Extended warranties are very profitable, they want you to buy it.

Is it still in this case? You can do the damage by yourself and they still repair. No questions asked.

It's a numbers game. For everybody who does that, there's a large number of people who pay and never need repair.

How is Apple Store defined? Does official partner/authorized count.

> no other PC or mobile phone manufacturer is providing warranty service (for consumer hardware) that remotely matches Apple's.

Maybe, but Apple is also among the worst companies for repairability of their hardware. If a PC (which you mention) breaks is usually only one part to be replaced (without looking at actual repairs), and any individual with necessary know-how can do it

Those are two separate issues. The claim is that you’re paying for Apple to repair or replace your goods if a problem arises, and they’re more than capable of doing that.

Interesting, I think AC is included in the iPhone Upgrade Program and I normally just buy the 1-time AC for 2 (or is it 3?) years on a new MBP. My Watch is the only thing I pay for AC on via subscription and it's $4.23/mo (total, with tax).

Just like the Apple One plan (News/Music/Storage/Arcade/etc) it simply doesn't make sense for me at all. I pay for more storage (2TB) and there is no way to make that an add-on, you have to pay the full price for 2TB on top of the Apple One plan. Since I use Spotify and don't care for News+ it's not at all worth it for me.

I have exclusively Apple products (aside from local and cloud Linux servers) and yet Apple's main bundling options make zero sense for me.

I have 2TB in my Apple One plan.

Edit: NM. I have the premier plan for my family.

Premier plan (which is the only one with 2TB): $37.95/mo.

I don't need that plan as an individual but it's the only option and for the things I actually use, it's not a good deal at all for me.

Yeah, makes sense. It’s great for me as I have 5 people to share it with, so the math works out.

This is a pet peeve of mine, but I dislike when any corporation resorts to using "One" to brand something. It signals a lack of creativity; it is just so bland.

Just wait for AppleCare One+

They should have gone with 360 first.

Apple2π

Agreed and out of monotony I'm glad they aren't recycling Pro, Air or Extreme for this financial product, although "AppleCare Extreme" does sound kinda cool in a "Snap into a Slim Jim" kind of way.

I expected this to include AppleTV and cloud storage alongside device insurance, since that seems to be what One means for other brands.

That's their existing Apple One program: https://www.apple.com/apple-one/

I wish that this had a "family sharing" option, like "Apple One" does. My kids have iPhones with AppleCare+ but the only way to manage it is from their phone (despite being billed to the Family Sharing plan); would be nice to manage all of the family AppleCare+ stuff from one place.

(Or, Apple could fix the larger issue which is that subscriptions for family members can only be managed from the family member's account/device, despite being shared with the family)

Family Sharing is such a "bolted on" experience. Its obviously been hastily glued together. I really wish it was a more polished product, because I run into annoying issues constantly.

It's also annoyingly "bolted on" in the other direction of the experience, too. A family of grown adults sharing is much less interested in things like central billing. There's definitely a sense that Family Sharing sort of assumes a young "nuclear" family with kids in that 1950's stereotypical 2 married adults sharing a bank account, 2 and a half kids and a dog.

I get the vibe that Apple doesn't really want people to use family sharing in the way a lot of people use family plans. Like, it's there so kids with their first iDevice can get some stuff from their parents, but once that kid is older Apple wants them off your family sharing group and on their own personal everything.

I stick through the hassle cause when Google killed Google Play Music I tried out Apple Music by getting on my parents' family sharing and don't mind having one less subscription to pay for as long as they don't care. But it is annoying it puts my account in a state where I can't buy any subscriptions or in-app purchases without it getting charged to daddy's credit card. The workaround I've found is you can go on the Apple Store app/website and gift yourself an Apple gift card and claim it on your account. Then it'll charge to those funds first before the family organizer's credit card.

You can disable purchase sharing and still do subscription sharing, which completely solves this problem.

I usually buy AppleCare+ for my new products (laptop, etc). I think an awesome use case here is the “hand me downs” that my 8yo gets. All are out of warranty, but he’s a lot tougher and more clumsy with the equipment. Covering all that (Mac, iPad, iPhone) for $20/month seems like a good deal.

Then again, when he breaks something, I don’t get to justify buying myself a new one :)

Very careless to give an 8 y/o a smart phone. Why is it so hard to raise your child?

Guess it’s easier to sedate/distract them?

My 8yo has a hand-me-down iPhone, but she only gets it when we go out to festivals/camping/a big park or something so she can wander off and do her own thing and then we regroup later. It's locked down into the basic "Assistive Access" mode so it only has the very basic features, no YouTube or entertainment at all.

I’m currently paying $13.49 just for Apple Care + theft and loss on my iPhone 16 Pro.

I also have AirPods Pro, iPad, MacMini M4 Pro, and a 2020 MacBook Pro M1 Max.

If this covers my 2020 MacBook Pro M1 Max, iPhone, and MacMini it’s a no brainer.

$240 per year. I find that very expensive. Insurance is always more expensive than the expected expense without, but this really doesn't feel like good value.

> Insurance is always more expensive than the expected expense without

This depends on how likely you are to make a claim, no? I imagine some clumsy/unlucky people get good value out of their Apple Care plans.

Insurances have a "loss ratio" (premiums vs paid claims) that has different ranges depending on the type of insurance.

> Gadget/Electronic Device Insurance typically operates with loss ratios between 30% and 60%. This means that 30–60 cents of every premium dollar are paid back out in claims. [0]

In other words, on average people pay twice as much in premiums than they would have without insurance. So you'd need to be way more clumsy/unlucky than average to make it worth it.

Of course, the peace of mind can be valuable too.

[0] https://www.swissre.com/dam/jcr:dfcf4d4a-d6f6-424c-949f-7940...

One glaring omission in the announcement is whether the support for this will apply when one is in some other country where Apple has some presence (directly or through authorized service providers). It seems like the coverage may be limited only within the geographical boundaries of the U.S.

I'm a Canadian and I had my iPhone fixed (replaced) under AppleCare+ in the US once, it was easy as pi.

For AppleCare, I bought it in the USA on a phone but used it in Switzerland. They gave me the original USA terms - at the time that I bought it it had two free repairs while the Swiss plan had a fee for repairs. I got the repair for free.

I was half hoping that would be a press release saying that AppleCare would be bundled with the AppleOne plan... That would have been awesome, but otherwise I never used/needed AppleCare on anything so I guess I would pass.

>For just $19.99 per month, customers can protect up to three products in one plan

>[...]

>With AppleCare One, customers can now add products they already own that are up to four years old1 if they are in good condition.3

>3 To verify “good condition,” products may be required to undergo a diagnostic check using a customer’s iPhone or iPad, or at an Apple Store, prior to being added to the plan.

Applecare's page also says you can get a battery replacement if it's under 80%.

>AppleCare covers battery replacements at no extra charge if the capacity drops below 80 percent.

Does that mean you can enroll in apple care one when your battery is at 81%, wear down the battery life within a month (eg. fast charging/heating it), invoke the battery replacement benefit, and end up with a battery replacement for $20? The normal price for a battery replacement is $99, so this is a significant savings.

HN accidentally discovering insurance fraud is sort of a trope at this point.

This isn’t insurance fraud if the battery wear is under normal use. The problem with the plan is that an existing $20 per month plan is required to add old devices, so won’t be able to just pay for a single month.

> isn’t insurance fraud if the battery wear is under normal use

It's typically fraud to purchase insurance with an undisclosed pre-existing problem that you know and intend to use said insurance to pay for.

This is sad. They are only introducing it now for the subscription revenue to potentially offset loses with App Store 30% commissions.

The ability to add up to a four year old laptop “in good condition” is interesting - I assume you have it checked at an Apple Store?

The footnote implies that a video inspection is also an option.

"To verify “good condition,” products may be required to undergo a diagnostic check using a customer’s iPhone or iPad, or at an Apple Store, prior to being added to the plan."

Any ideas if this would cover multiple battery replacements on a single device? My current MBP is on its 3rd battery.

Wow, that's quite an achievement. Do you use https://apphousekitchen.com/aldente-overview/?

I use this app on all my Macbooks — it's great!

All my batteries swell up about every 24 months to where the MBP doesn't sit flat anymore.

Crikey, you do know they can be recharged, right?

Seems to cover Vision Pro, I currently pay $30 for my Vision Pro warranty alone... that's interesting.

Im surprised that Apple doesn’t subsidize it more. I have never met anyone who has it or wants it (except people who are AR devs themselves). If they were serious about ”spatial computing” and building more devices it’d seem like a no-brainer to get the current gen in more people’s hands to get the ecosystem started.

Shits a behemoth tho. The future of AR is in lightweight devices like the meta raybans probably and apple knows that. More people wearing that thing is just bad for the brand IMO.

> it’d seem like a no-brainer to get the current gen in more people’s hands to get the ecosystem started

Apple’s strategy seems to be intently towards getting it in the hands of AR devs and the ultra wealthy. The human intensity of their demos sort of precludes a mass-market strategy.

The best aspect of this product is people who use it will have less money. Kind of like a sin tax.

Very very tired of subscription hell.

Where's the AI stuff? :D

> Starting tomorrow, customers in the U.S. can sign up for AppleCare One directly on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac, or by visiting their nearest Apple Store.

Do you think this means it covers Mac too, or just that you can buy it on a Mac but only for other devices, as mentioned below:

...AppleCare One extends that same reliability and makes it easier than ever to protect the products you love and depend on like iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch...

Reminder for folks in the UK and most of Europe, your national consumer protection laws give you this for free.

The new plan includes theft and loss coverage.

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