When buying a new Apple computer, is it worth taking out the AppleCare extended warranty that Apple offers? In this article, James Richmond explores his history of buying Apple computers to see whether AppleCare has been worth it.

I recently had cause to be thankful that I had taken out AppleCare for my 2017 MacBook Pro 15”. I noticed that the right side Thunderbolt ports had stopped working and after creating a Carbon Copy Cloner image of the machine and de-authorising any iLok machine authorisations, I took my ailing MacBook Pro to my local Apple Store for repair.

Just a note to say that Applecare is now known as AppleCare+. In this article, we will use the term AppleCare to cover both. Back to the broken MacBook Pro…

As I had owned the MacBook Pro for 2 years, it meant I still had 1 year left on the AppleCare that I purchased with it.

What started as a simple repair quickly turned into a much bigger job for Apple. Not only did they have to replace the right IO board, the helpful AppleCare Genius noted that there was a recall for the display. what’s more, once they opened up the unit they saw that the battery had swollen and also the main logic board (with soldered on RAM and SSD) needed to be replaced. All of this also required a new top case, keyboard and trackpad as well.

I asked the folks at Apple if anything of my old laptop remained. Only the bottom case was returned to me, everything else was new.

Without AppleCare, this repair alone would have cost me £1,137 according to the submitted work order. This particular laptop was purchased through the Apple Store educational programme and the AppleCare Protection Plan only cost me £134, so just on this machine alone, I was well and truly ahead.

This ordeal, although easily resolved, and at no cost to me, had me considering whether my total AppleCare bill for all my major Apple purchases has been worthwhile.

This table below shows the Apple computer purchases I’ve made over the last 11 years (as that is how far my receipts go back), whether I’ve bought AppleCare as part of the purchase and gives me a total figure for my AppleCare purchases.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will see that I’ve paid some quite low amounts for AppleCare (and indeed the machines themselves), which is thanks to Apple’s generously cheap educational pricing. It is also worth shopping around for AppleCare. I have often been able to buy AppleCare much more cost-effectively from other suppliers. After all, it is nothing more than a code which you enter into the AppleCare site to register it to a particular machine.

I’ve also not been that consistent purchasing AppleCare with my machines. This is for a variety of reasons, sometimes I was right at the end of my computer budget and prioritised (perhaps foolishly) a slightly higher spec over AppleCare. In one instance I purchased a machine whilst living abroad and I was unaware whether the device would be covered when I returned to the UK (I’ve since been informed it would, although Apple doesn’t make it that easy to figure out). One of the reasons AppleCare for laptops especially is a no brainer, is that the cover is worldwide. Take it into any Apple Store or approved Apple service Centre and they will fix it.

In some instances, it has been down to the percentage of the purchase price that that AppleCare was. My 2019 Mac Pro was almost £9k and the £300 AppleCare was 3%. My 2009 MacBook Pro 17” cost me £1,984 and the £297.60 Apple care represents 15% of the purchase price.

Purely on percentages, the 2019 Mac Pro AppleCare purchase is a complete no-brainer.

Since 2009 I’ve owned 9 separate Apple computers costing me a total of £24,547. This, of course, does not account for the money I have recouped when I have sold each of these devices. In most cases, I’ve sold one machine to pay for a percentage (usually about half) of the next one.

My total AppleCare spend over the last 11 years has been £1241.40, or around an extra 5% on top of my purchase price. Now, granted, I have not purchased AppleCare with every single purchase and some of those were quite cheap.

My recent issues with my current MacBook Pro is not the only warranty repair I’ve had. My 2015 MacBook Pro required a new screen, again covered under warranty, costing £391. Adding this to the £1,137 that the recently replaced MacBook Pro would have cost for a total of £1,528. This is the amount that I would have had to spend on repairs over the last 11 years if I had not taken AppleCare with the majority of the purchases. In my specific case I’ve ended up slightly ahead, I’ve benefited to the tune of £286.60.

My conclusion here is first, I’ve been very lucky to have had my warranty repair needs align with my purchase of AppleCare. It could have just as easily gone the other way, where I failed to purchase AppleCare for a machine that required it.

Also, like any insurance policy, the benefit is not necessarily that it will save you a lot of money but simply that it is an expense that can be spread out over time, and is effectively a forecastable expense, not unlike a software subscription.

This has been an interesting exercise. Until I did the calculation I had no real idea as to whether AppleCare has been worth the expense in my particular situation. It turns out that it has and I’m probably likely to continue buying it (and perhaps quite soon, I have my eye on an 8 core 16” MacBook Pro).

Is It Actually AppleCare+ ?

In a word... er... dunno. AppleCare+ is actually the name Apple uses for its insurance policy offered against accidental damage. Apple’s website states the following:

“Most Apple hardware comes with a one-year limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary technical support. To extend your coverage further, purchase AppleCare+ or the AppleCare Protection Plan.”

Apple’s terms and conditions state…

“AppleCare+ is an insurance policy covering the risk of damage to your Mac or Apple-branded display and the need for technical assistance. AppleCare+ does not provide coverage for failure due to defects in design and/or materials and/or workmanship. Such failures will be covered separately either by your consumer law rights or the Apple Limited Warranty, or by Apple itself during the same period as the AppleCare+ Coverage Period, even if you did not purchase or lease your Apple product from Apple. If a product is defective, consumers may, in addition to any other rights which they may have under consumer law in the UK, have rights under the Consumer Rights Act of 2015.”

I’ve highlighted the area in bold to point out that Apple explicitly states that AppleCare (or AppleCare Plus) doesn’t cover the issues I’ve experienced above. How do I know this? Because further down the same page they state the following:

“Policy Excess” means the relevant excess for the Covered Equipment as follows…

As part of all my repairs, I did not have to pay any excess for my issues. All of the issues were resolved at no cost to me, so I infer from that that these are considered ‘manufacturing faults’ by Apple.

I might be misunderstanding this but it appears that AppleCare+ extends the warranty to be the same period as the AppleCare+ coverage period and warranty claims for manufacturing faults are provided by Apple, not as part of AppleCare + but facilitated by it.

This seems like a strange distinction to make and I’m sure there is a technical legal reason for Apple to make this distinction. Perhaps a legally minded reader can fill us in?