Have you ever break youriPhone ? Over the preceding X of being an iPhone user , I ’ve break two blind and had one iPhone stolen while abroad . gratefully , one service come to the rescue in all of those cases : AppleCare+ .
The latest reportage from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg suggests that Apple is about to move from a prepaid framework to a subscription - only model for its protection plan . Naturally , as subscription have become predominant in our daily life , and people have suffered from subscription fatigue , some citizenry are concerned about another subscription .
The shift from prepaid to subscription
When AppleCare+ first launch , it was only usable as a postpaid point that required you to expend 10 % or more of your iPhone cost on protect your fresh iPhone . For many people — myself included , at least then — it made an already - expensive leverage even more expensive and also stand for that it was much harder to justify purchasing .
Alongside the launching of the iPhone 11 in 2019 , Apple rolled out the pick to pay for AppleCare+ monthly . This meant that rather of prepaying for two twelvemonth , you could pay for it every month , as you do for your cell architectural plan or other subscriptions . With this in thinker , it should amount as no surprisal that Apple is planning to move to a subscription - only manakin .
It also makes horse sense given Apple ’s antecedency around recurring revenue and the fact that AppleCare+ is let in in the subscription - base iPhone Upgrade Program . Paying monthly also means you may keep it run for indefinitely , an pick that was n’t available with the postpaid choice for many class . unluckily , this subscription shift does probably stand for you wo n’t be able-bodied toget AppleCare+ for cheapanymore .
AppleCare+ is far more than just an extended warranty
When you think about AppleCare+ , it ’s prosperous to think of it as an extended guarantee , but to do so would be detrimental to the sheer value it offers to many people . Yes , it covers inadvertent damage — such as a broken sieve , liquid damage , or even your phone being persist over by a car — and allow for you to fix or replace it for a fee that ’s far cheaper than without AppleCare+ .
However , it also handle much more than this . It offers two class of technical support via the phone or in - store Genius saloon , which is idealistic if you are elderly , or have an elderly relative who is n’t the most technologically advanced . If you keep your phone for a long time , it will also protect your battery when it eventually degrades as Apple will supervene upon the electric battery and effectively give your phone a raw letting of life .
By far my favored part of AppleCare+ is the Theft and Loss tier , which does on the button what you ’d look it to . It ’s essentially an orchard apple tree - provided insurance plan for your iPhone , and it means that if it is stolen or drop off , Apple will supervene upon it with an identical model . As I get out , this program can be a lifesaver .
Last February , my iPhone was stolen in Barcelona during MWC 2024 , and it take a hebdomad for Apple to send me a replacement — principally because I was using an eSIM - only US mannikin in the UK where the iPhone still has a forcible SIM menu tray — it was the same phone that I had . Yes , it could be a smoother outgrowth , but in hindsight , it ’s far well than any other insurance policy provider .
Does it make financial sense to have AppleCare+?
At $ 10 per month for AppleCare+ and $ 14 per calendar month for AppleCare+ Theft and Loss , you may be asking whether it makes financial gumption to have AppleCare+ . Each year I obtain myself asking the same question , especially if I ’ve had no claims in the premature year , but my iPhone getting stolen — and subsequently needing to also fix a rugged screen a few month later on — last year basically made it ubiquitous with every future iPhone leverage .
That suppose , does it make sensation for you ? allow ’s consider my last five iPhones and the various multiplication I ’ve had to use AppleCare+ .
First , the cost . sham there are no future price changes — and discarding the current deduction over monthly pricing when you prepay for two years — AppleCare+ cost $ 120 per year without Theft and Loss , and $ 168 with the add together protection . Over five years , this equates to roughly $ 840 in spending , although mine was less as I did n’t get the Theft and Loss protection ab initio , I prepaid for at least two of the geezerhood and the price was loud .
Each meter I ’ve had to use AppleCare+ , there has also been an additional one - off cost for each title . My larceny and Loss claim be $ 149 , while two broken screens cost $ 29 each and one more discredited iPhone cost $ 99 to replace . All in all , this be me $ 306 in extra claim fee .
Now consider myiPhone 15 Pro , which was stolen in Barcelona . It was the 512 GB model , and at the time , it had a replacement cost of $ 1,199 . Yes , you read that right : the substitute iPhone would have be more than I ’ve spent in five yr .
What if you have never had a phone lost or stolen ? Let ’s consider that scenario for a moment : without Theft and Loss , AppleCare+ would have be me $ 600 over the past five class , plus an extra $ 157 in claim fees . My iPhone 13 Pro screen refilling would have be $ 279 , while my iPhone 14 Pro screen would have be $ 329 . The damage title with a completely shattered back methamphetamine and a seeable motherboard ? That would have be $ 649 .
Let ’s summarize : with AppleCare+ Theft and Loss , five years of coverage and three claims be less than a undivided replacement iPhone . Without Theft and Loss , a single title for exuberant damage would have cost almost the same as five long time of coverage and three claim for screen impairment . To put it more succinctly : one screen door substitution without AppleCare+ would be more than two years of AppleCare+ with two screen refilling per twelvemonth .
Why AppleCare+ is the ultimate protection for your iPhone
If you ’ve broken your phone before , you ’ll know that dreaded feeling when you realize it ’s made contact with a apparently resistless force play . Sometimes you get golden and it ’s fine , but as I discovered almost a decade ago , even hitting a trading floor cover by a lean carpet can sometimes be enough to break a screen .
Why I love AppleCare+ is that it ’s the ultimate protection plan for that one meter that something does go improper . Unlike an insurance policy where it can take several day or weeks to fix your split up cover , most Apple stores can usually fit you in the same day or the next .
Apple Stores are prevalent throughout the world , so if you ’re traveling and the bad hap , you’re able to likely get it interchange even while you ’re abroad . No waitress for a fresh phone or go without while you ’re abroad , just a quick replacement and you ’re ready to go . Unless they replace the whole phone , you in all likelihood wo n’t postulate to set it all up again .
If you ’ve never broken a phone , you may not need AppleCare+ , but if you ’re upgrading to a big iPhone like theiPhone 16 Pro Max , or you ’re eagerly awaiting thefoldable iPhone , I ’d play that most people can gain from AppleCare+ . I do n’t take care if Apple makes it a monthly subscription , I still recall it ’s an of the essence protection plan for all iPhone owner .
