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Until it doesn't. I also gamble with this because I've never damaged my phone ever and I've had an iPhone since the OG. I'm not under any delusion, though, that

Until it doesn't. I also gamble with this because I've never damaged my phone ever and I've had an iPhone since the OG. I'm not under any delusion, though, that this streak will last forever. I think I would currently need to damage/replace my phone twice to come out in the negative but that's still a possibility. I've been extremely careful and/or lucky.

layer8 4y ago
I damage my phone every couple of years. So it happens, but not frequently enough to warrant AC+.
- dkonofalski 4y ago
  That doesn't mean that everyone has the same experience as you, though. All it takes is for you to damage your device 1 more time than usual for it to be worth it.
  - hot_gril 4y ago
    Yeah but Apple has probably found that on average the insurance isn't worth buying, otherwise they wouldn't offer it at this price. I guess it's worth buying if you know you're gonna break your phone even more frequently than the average AppleCare+ user does (which is likely more than the average iPhone user), but those $30 fees and the waiting time to repair a phone aren't free.
    - dkonofalski 4y ago
      AppleCare has always been a loss for Apple. The entire repair division is a loss for them. They don't make a profit from repairs. This update is partially marketing spin but, for a lot of users, it was worth buying before and is now even more of a value. If you look at the things that Apple prioritizes, they want to disincentivize self-repair because any quality variations reflect on them whether they did the repair or not.
      - goosedragons 4y ago
        Do you have a source for this? AppleCare+ for a MacBook Air is $250. You can get a 4 year 3rd party extended warranty for a similarly priced laptop off Amazon for $170. Presumably they make money off this but don't have advantages that Apple does like at cost repair parts. Are Apple products such garbage or so hard to repair that shorter more expensive warranties lose money? Seriously?
        dkonofalski 4y ago
        Yes. You can look at every earnings statement they've released for the last 10 years or so. There are also articles that made a stink about it a while ago. Here's one but there are plenty more like it: https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/11/20/apple-says-repairs-cost-more-than-they-earn-in-charges https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/11/20/apple-says-repair...
        dkonofalski 4y ago
        3rd party extended warranties don't work the same way as the repair program. With a 3rd party warranty, they don't have to fix it with an equal part and they can also swap out the machine for a refurbished one.
        hot_gril 4y ago
        A swap sounds like it'd cost them more than it costs Apple to repair it.
        dkonofalski 4y ago
        Not if they're swapping with a machine that they refurbished. They can keep swapping them ad infinitum. That's what Asurion does with cell phone warranty claims. You pay a $150 deductible and you get a refurbished phone in exchange. They fix the part that was broken on your phone that you're returning to them and it gets refurbed to the next person.
        4y ago
  - layer8 4y ago
    It’s exactly my point that everyone has to make their own decision based on their risk profile. It’s far from a clear case that AC+ always makes sense.
    - dkonofalski 4y ago
      Then, in that case, I agree. I just felt like you were downplaying the number of people that actually do benefit from it and would benefit more with the recent change.
      - joshmanders 4y ago
        I don't know, the amount of people who aren't tech savvy that I know who contact me because they know I'm tech savvy tells me that a lot more "normal people" can find advantages in AC+ than us tech savvy people who take better care of our devices. I know since meeting my gf who is tech dumb, my device is more beaten up than it ever had been before due to just her using it randomly here and there.
        dkonofalski 4y ago
        This is my experience as well. As I've stated elsewhere, I've never needed to use an AppleCare repair myself but I know at least 5 people that have had multiple repairs done within a single year.
        Dylan16807 4y ago
        Unless the average "tech dumb" person is throwing things at walls out of frustration, I don't see why that would mean more damage. I can be very careful with something I don't understand, and I can be reckless with something I do understand.
tshaddox 4y ago
It's definitely easy to imagine breaking even if you have the more expensive "AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss" plan where you can replace your phone twice a year for a $149 deductible.

layer8 4y ago

I damage my phone every couple of years. So it happens, but not frequently enough to warrant AC+.

dkonofalski 4y ago
That doesn't mean that everyone has the same experience as you, though. All it takes is for you to damage your device 1 more time than usual for it to be worth it.
- hot_gril 4y ago
  Yeah but Apple has probably found that on average the insurance isn't worth buying, otherwise they wouldn't offer it at this price. I guess it's worth buying if you know you're gonna break your phone even more frequently than the average AppleCare+ user does (which is likely more than the average iPhone user), but those $30 fees and the waiting time to repair a phone aren't free.
  - dkonofalski 4y ago
    AppleCare has always been a loss for Apple. The entire repair division is a loss for them. They don't make a profit from repairs. This update is partially marketing spin but, for a lot of users, it was worth buying before and is now even more of a value. If you look at the things that Apple prioritizes, they want to disincentivize self-repair because any quality variations reflect on them whether they did the repair or not.
    - goosedragons 4y ago
      Do you have a source for this? AppleCare+ for a MacBook Air is $250. You can get a 4 year 3rd party extended warranty for a similarly priced laptop off Amazon for $170. Presumably they make money off this but don't have advantages that Apple does like at cost repair parts. Are Apple products such garbage or so hard to repair that shorter more expensive warranties lose money? Seriously?
      - dkonofalski 4y ago
        Yes. You can look at every earnings statement they've released for the last 10 years or so. There are also articles that made a stink about it a while ago. Here's one but there are plenty more like it: https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/11/20/apple-says-repairs-cost-more-than-they-earn-in-charges https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/11/20/apple-says-repair...
      - dkonofalski 4y ago
        3rd party extended warranties don't work the same way as the repair program. With a 3rd party warranty, they don't have to fix it with an equal part and they can also swap out the machine for a refurbished one.
        hot_gril 4y ago
        A swap sounds like it'd cost them more than it costs Apple to repair it.
        dkonofalski 4y ago
        Not if they're swapping with a machine that they refurbished. They can keep swapping them ad infinitum. That's what Asurion does with cell phone warranty claims. You pay a $150 deductible and you get a refurbished phone in exchange. They fix the part that was broken on your phone that you're returning to them and it gets refurbed to the next person.
        4y ago
- layer8 4y ago
  It’s exactly my point that everyone has to make their own decision based on their risk profile. It’s far from a clear case that AC+ always makes sense.
  - dkonofalski 4y ago
    Then, in that case, I agree. I just felt like you were downplaying the number of people that actually do benefit from it and would benefit more with the recent change.
    - joshmanders 4y ago
      I don't know, the amount of people who aren't tech savvy that I know who contact me because they know I'm tech savvy tells me that a lot more "normal people" can find advantages in AC+ than us tech savvy people who take better care of our devices. I know since meeting my gf who is tech dumb, my device is more beaten up than it ever had been before due to just her using it randomly here and there.
      - dkonofalski 4y ago
        This is my experience as well. As I've stated elsewhere, I've never needed to use an AppleCare repair myself but I know at least 5 people that have had multiple repairs done within a single year.
      - Dylan16807 4y ago
        Unless the average "tech dumb" person is throwing things at walls out of frustration, I don't see why that would mean more damage. I can be very careful with something I don't understand, and I can be reckless with something I do understand.

tshaddox 4y ago

It's definitely easy to imagine breaking even if you have the more expensive "AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss" plan where you can replace your phone twice a year for a $149 deductible.