Apple is cutting the prices for its AppleCare Plus extended warranty for both its M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops. AppleCare for the new M1 Air now costs $199 (versus the old $249 price), while AppleCare for the M1 Pro is down $20 to $249, as spotted by MacRumors.
If you’ve got an Intel-based laptop, those price cuts are a mixed bag. Apple is applying the $199 price for the MacBook Air to both the M1 and Intel-based models, even though it no longer directly sells the Intel Airs. If you’ve got an Intel-based Pro, on the other hand (which Apple does still offer, at least for now), you won’t be getting any discount — AppleCare Plus for that model will still cost the same $269 as before.
Note the “New Lower Price.”
Image: Apple
AppleCare Plus for Macs extends the 90 days of coverage included with a new laptop to three years. It also gives users two damage replacements every 12 months, with an additional charge of $99 for replacing the screen or outside of the laptop, or a $299 for “other damage.” Those fees are on top of the initial AppleCare Plus fee that customers pay upfront, but given that Apple’s laptops start at $999, it’s the sort of thing that could save money in the long run if you’re particularly accident prone.
Apple has cut AppleCare Plus prices for Macs in India. The company has lowered the prices of its additional product coverage across different markets, including the US, Canada, and India. The AppleCare Plus for Mac offers up to three years of accidental damage protection and expert technical support from Apple.
The Apple India online store lists the all-new price of Rs 18,900, down from the earlier price of Rs 25,900. Notably, the new prices for AppleCare Plus can be checked on the mobile site of Apple Store India while the desktop is still showing the old prices. The new prices for the AppleCare Plus plans are for new M1-based MacBook models - MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
With the AppleCare Plus plan, users can have up to 3 years of product coverage from Apple. This includes one year of standard hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary technical support. What AppleCare Plus for Macs does extend coverage to three years from the AppleCare+ purchase date and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months.
The AppleCare Plus plan's other benefits include three years of Apple-certified service and support coverage, priority access to technical support, and battery service coverage. The AppleCare Plus plans offer comprehensive coverage that includes the Mac, Battery, included accessories such as the power adapter, RAM, and Apple USB drive.
It's worth noting that the AppleCare Plus plan covers physical damage as well and can be purchased within 60 days of the purchase. Apple also sells the Apple Care Protection Plan for Macs, which can be purchased 365 days from the date of purchase. It still costs Rs 17,900. AppleCare Plus dedicated support page points that users who purchase the AppleCare Plus plans will get up to two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months, with each subject to a service fee of Rs 8,900 for screen damage or external enclosure damage or Rs 25,900 for other damage.
In the US, Apple is offering two plans for the MacBook Pro, one for M1-based Macs and another for Intel-based. MacRumors reports that the M1-based has seen a price drop to $249 from $269. The Intel-based MacBook Pro remains at $269. However, at the moment, there's no clarity about the same for the Indian market. The report also claims that users in the US who recently purchased an AppleCare Plus plan for their Mac computer can cancel their existing one and buy the new one at a discounted price.
AppleCare+ does add between $99 and $379 to the cost of a Mac
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In theory, Apple offers the same AppleCare+ insurance for Macs that it does for iPhones, yet the details are so different that it's harder to determine the value to you.
Once you understand just what AppleCare+ actually offers, and what it costs, then in principle the decision is straightforward. Just as it is with the iPhone, your choice over whether to buy AppleCare+ or not depends on you and what you need.
On the one hand, if your Mac is a desktop one that never leaves a high-security office which happens to be manned by IT experts, your need for AppleCare+ is slim. On the other, if you keep taking your MacBook Pro outside and dropping it on carpark concrete, you know what to do.
In practice, everyone is going to be somewhere in the range between these, and no one is able to say for certain whether their Mac will or won't be damaged. So it's a question of assessing the likelihood, and balancing that against the costs of fixing damage if you do or don't have AppleCare+.
Except there are several key differences between AppleCare+ for the Mac and for the iPhone, which makes it tricker to calculate whether it's worth buying or not.
The differences between AppleCare+ for Mac and iPhone
- AppleCare+ for Mac is for three years from date of hardware purchase, not two
- There's no option to pay monthly
- Apple doesn't typically quote repair costs without AppleCare+
Just as with the iPhone, though, you can still buy AppleCare+ after you've bought your Mac. Officially, you have up to 60 days after purchase to add on AppleCare+ but Apple has extended this period at least temporarily, because of the coronavirus.
If you don't buy at time of purchase, though, you've got to have Apple approve that the Mac is still in as-new condition. That can mean taking it to an Apple Store to be inspected, or at least running diagnostics that online Apple Store staff tell you to.
Plus, whether you buy it 60 or more days after your Mac or not, AppleCare+ is effective from the date you got the Mac.
What AppleCare+ costs for Mac
- MacBook Air $249
- 13-inch MacBook Pro $269 [discounted to $209 alongside system purchase with this deal]
- 16-inch MacBook Pro $379 [or $299 with this coupon]
- Mac mini $99
- iMac 21.5-inch $169
- iMac 27-inch $169
- iMac Pro $169
- Mac Pro $299
Once you've paid this AppleCare+ fee, then for the three years that are covered you need only think of two different possible repair costs. The first is for any "screen damage or external enclosure damage," and the second is for the very broad-ranging "other damage."
If your problem is with the screen or the casing, then regardless of which Mac you've got, AppleCare+ means you pay a flat fee of $99. When it's this more nebulous "other damage," the flat fee is $269.
Would you even know how to put this back together? (Source: iFixit)
What repairs cost you outside AppleCare+
Apple does publish comparative figures for how much it costs to replace a battery with or without AppleCare+. Without this insurance, it will typically cost you $199 on the MacBook Pro, or $129 for the MacBook Air.
Otherwise, Apple's preference is for you to describe the problem first, then for them to examine the device. And finally for them to quote you a price that is far higher than you'd hoped yet not quite high enough that it's impossible to pay.
Fortunately, though, Apple is not the sole option when you need a repair. Prices for independent repair vary over the whole of the US, but there some broad averages that can help you estimate the value of AppleCare+.
For instance, the Thumbtack service which aims to match you up with a local firm doing the work you need, has published typical prices for most Mac repairs. It's still necessarily broad, though, simply because the range of repairs is, too.
So for instance, if your Mac's drive fails then repairing or replacing it can cost between $159 and $459 for a depot-level repair. It depends on whether the drive is in, say, the Mac Pro, where it's easily accessible — or the iMac or a MacBook Pro, where it definitely is not.
That means you're likely to spend more than the cost of AppleCare+ before you even factor in the price of the drive itself. Then there is the fact that, under AppleCare+, you are covered for two incidents of accidental damage each year.
Consequently, the AppleCare+ fee covers you for a total of up to six repairs. On that basis, AppleCare+ for Macs definitely seems worth it — except for one thing.
It's a gamble
Given what we know about per capita failures, even including the keyboard repair programs, the vast majority of Macs have no problems over the first four years of use. If they did, Apple would not offer this insurance for three years.
Just as Apple is gambling that it's worthwhile offering cheaper repairs because few people will need them, so you are gambling whether you'll be one of the unlucky ones. Except Apple has cold, hard statistics to work from. While we can only extrapolate based on our collated data from service departments, Apple knows precisely how many repairs it makes in and out of AppleCare+.
If you're buying a desktop Mac that will only be used for an hour every fifth Tuesday, and won't ever be moved from the same spot, that's one thing. If you're sick of desktop Macs and have now bought a 16-inch MacBook Pro that you intend to take on fishing trips, that's another.
Adding
There's a lot of truth in that line about peace of mind.
up what you can
That Thumbtack estimate includes how the average price to replace a fan in a Mac is between $89 and $199. That could mean it actually costs more to have the repair done under AppleCare+ than not.
But overall if you have one incident of damage of any sort, then it is far more likely that you will save money on a Mac repair by buying AppleCare+. If you have more than one, it is certain you will.
You're still not very likely to have a problem, but maybe the real value in AppleCare+ is in reassurance. Just as it is with the iPhone version, knowing that you've got AppleCare+ is perhaps a relief.
AppleCare+ for all your devices
The principle is the same — pay for AppleCare+ and you'll save on repair costs, if you ever need any repairs. Yet for all of the devices that can have AppleCare+, it seems as if every one has significant differences to consider.
Whatever device you're thinking about getting AppleCare+ for, read our guide:
- Is AppleCare+ worth it for the iPhone?
- Is AppleCare+ worth it for the iPad, iPad Pro, or iPad Air?
- Is AppleCare+ worth it for the Apple Watch?