Applecare+ for Mac Studio & Display

Hardware
1

Having recently bought a Mac Studio and Studio Display I am wondering if I should purchase AppleCare while I still can ( I have 21 days left).

I must admit I am not typically the sort of person to purchase protection on appliances/devices I buy i.e. I don’t have AppleCare on my iPhone 13 Pro.

I have never had an issue with apple equipment during the initial 3 year period.

I’m just interested to hear others options?

2

Given the cost of the display, its complexity, and the fact that it’s very early in its first generation, I opted to add the relatively inexpensive option of Apple Care. If this were a year from now and the display had established a track record of not having any serious issues, I probably wouldn’t have done so.

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3

Thanks for the response. We do have a 1 year standard warranty though so the first year is covered. AppleCare effectively only covers me for year 2 & 3. Also, given your approach I assume you would recommend the same for the Mac Studio itself as it is also a new unproven product.

4

I buy AppleCare on basically everything I buy from Apple:

  • Watch sits on my wrist, in a precarious position. I bought AppleCare.
  • I don’t use a case for my phone and it sits in my pocket all the time, also precarious. I bought AppleCare.
  • My laptop cost as much as a small car and is not cheap to replace, plus it runs my business. I bought AppleCare.
  • The Studio Display is a little more complex than the average display and cost a lot of money, for a monitor. A big screen is an important part of my business. I bought AppleCare.
  • AirPods batteries die within a couple years and AppleCare covers their replacement, so it’s basically a free replacement when they inevitably go. I bought it.

Conversely:

  • The Apple TV is a tiny dingus that just sits by my TV and does very little work, and has nothing to do with my business, and is only really a small part of my day. I did not buy AppleCare.

I have done this for years. Here’s when AppleCare has come in handy:

  • Butterfly keyboard replacement 1 through 5 before Apple acknowledged it as a problem
  • Logic board replacement on MacBook Pro (not the current one)
  • Several times with phones when the logic boards fail or the one time I shattered the screen

Ironically, my Apple TV is an annoying piece of junk that started getting funky only after its 1 year was up. If I had AppleCare, I would have replaced it by now.

Overall, AppleCare has saved me much more than I’ve spent, particularly on the laptop side and the phone side. In particular, I find it useful for mobile items. YMMV, of course, and none of us know yet if it will be necessary for the Studio Display.

5

If this is for personal use and you would be OK without the computer for a week or so then it’s probably not essential.

If it is for work or otherwise mission critical then I think it is a good value to purchase AppleCare.

6

AppleCare has paid off for me a couple of times. The first generation iPad that stopped being sensitive along the bottom of the touch screen was replaced. The 2018 MackBook Pro that had a failing touch bar and battery that was beginning to to swell was fixed.

But some would rather self-insure, saving the money otherwise paid for AppleCare, and simply paying out of pocket for the occasional repair. This is an old conundrum with no clear answer.

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7

Thanks! That’s interesting. My view has always been that taking into consideration the cost of each insurance (in this case AppleCare) you could probably afford to replace one item if it were to break.

I must have been very lucky with my Apple equipment because they have only ever failed me after the warranty period (or even after the AppleCare period in the case of my last iMac which I did buy AppleCare for).

And if I’m honest the one experience of an Apple repair (my last iMac) was an awful experience resulting eventually in a full refund from Apple after failing to actually fix it ( I then went on to fix it myself by simply replacing the power supply). Which has left me thinking I’d rather buy a new replacement than spend significant money on a repair.

Since in this case the items are a Mac Studio and a display they are never going to move off my desk, so the only risk is their actual component failure.

I guess its going to come down to peace of mind and maybe that is worth it.

I notice they now offer a yearly AppleCare. Is this just to spread the cost i.e. you still have to buy three years? or is it a truly a one year insurance?

8

How is this different with AppleCare? Wouldn’t there still be a period where the computer was out of use. My last experience they had my iMac of several weeks. So I’m not clear on the difference between personal v critical use. Am I missing something?

9

I don’t know about the one-year thing; that’s new to me. I do know that they’ll often let you pay month-to-month with phones. I just pay for the 3 years.

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10

I don’t know if this is formal Apple policy or simply a courtesy they extend. In any event, I have found that when a computer covered by warranty or Applecare is inoperative, my local Apple Store is much more likely to work me in for a same-day Genius visit and much more likely to find a way to repair or replace the computer same-day than if it is an out of warranty situation.

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11

I’m probably behind on my AppleCare purchases but my wife is way ahead. She’s had problems with her iMac, 2 iPads, and a watch.

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12

Seems the consensus is very pro-AppleCare :slight_smile: Thanks for all the input.

13

An old rule of thumb is to only insure things you can’t afford to handle on your own. So if replacing/repairing the Mac Studio or Display would be devastating, get the AppleCare.

Consider that all of these extended warranties are profit centers for the sellers, it should be obvious that in the long run they are losing propositions for the purchaser. The chances of a failure in year two or three is quite small.

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14

I used to purchase AppleCare for company MacBooks and iPads at my last job, but never for iMacs. I think AppleCare for an iMac in 2009 was about $150. If so, AppleCare would have been around $9000 for our first order of 60 machines. In nine years I spent about $200 each to replace 2 or 3 spinning hard drives and wrote off 1 iMac that died of motherboard failure. AppleCare would not have covered any of those failures. The $9000 that I didn’t spend on AppleCare, invested in the S&P 500, would have grown to around $16,000 during those 9 years.

Apple hardware is expensive and paying and extra 10% each time doesn’t add up for me. I purchased my first personal Mac (G5 PowerMac) in 2003. Since then I’ve owned multiple iPods, MacBooks, Minis, iPhones and iPads and AppleCare would have only saved me $150 for a dead SuperDrive in 2005.

I purchased AppleCare for my 2020 iPad Pro and have for most of my iPhones. I didn’t for my M1 MBA. I’m betting that it won’t fail in the next three years. If it does I’ll buy a new one with the money I’ve saved so far.

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15

You get more from AppleCare plus than regular warranty. Regular warranty doesn’t cover incidents where you are at fault, like liquid spill or dropping the device.
For me, I purchased AppleCare+ once for an iPhone once that probably will pay off for all my AppleCare+ purchases in the future. They replaced my iPhone twice in year 2.

16

The value of AppleCare is also related to your geography and local regulations. As an EU consumer, you are by law covered for 2 years on devices, and should be covered for repair, replacement or your money back for malfunctions. The same has been the case in most of Scandinavia for 40-50 years or so.

Dropping an expensive device is another story of course, and while this might be part of your home insurance, you’ll need to do the math on that.

Edit: For companies and machines that you positively need for your day-to-day, the AppleCare+ might also be a good idea - the EU regulation is covering consumers only, as far as I know.

I placed my order yesterday for a Mac Studio with display, and opted out of AppleCare at the time. However, it is a good point about the display being full of new tech and possibly having more early generation issues. I’ll reconsider within the 60 day grace period (which will be closer to next year if the projected delivery time is correct :roll_eyes:)

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17

I honestly don’t know. With a notebook I always buy AppleCare just because the chance for accidental damage is much higher than for a desktop. The Mac Studio feels like a less risky new product to me than does the Studio Display. I’d probably get it though.

I live far away (800Km) from the nearest Apple Store, so Genius appointments have never been a consideration. If I rely on any piece of equipment, I always have a fallback for a situation in which it is unavailable to me due to repair. Since 2007 I’ve twice had MacBook Pros be off for repairs for 2 months at a time.

18

I don’t recall any of the 200+ Macs I purchased for my company failing in the first three years. We had a few laptops and iPads dropped, drowned, or stepped on. And if memory serves one executive went through three iPads in less than two years. Two on his own, the third with an assist from a senior manager :grinning:

19

Happy face update: Apple’s shipping prognosis was WAY off, so instead of delivering my Mac Studio in late September, it got delivered today!

Still waiting on the Studio Display, but I can live with my Philips 4K panel for a while longer :smiley:

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