What is AppleCare? Should you buy it for your new Apple device?

Every Mac, iPod, and iPhone comes with a one year standard warranty, commonly known as AppleCare. This includes 90 days of telephone support and a full year replacement warranty for any hardware defects. Apple and its resellers offer an additional two years extended warranty for Macs, dubbed AppleCare Protection Plan (APP), which extends that to 3 years of full telephone support and hardware replacement warranty.

So should you buy AppleCare? It depends on which device we’re talking about. Computers, almost definitely. Laptops, most definitely.

For  iMac, AppleCare is cheap considering it covers a difficult repair and cost of the integrated display. Mac Pro AppleCare is an investment on an expensive machine that will last at least three years. For laptops, given their tendency to get bounced around, AppleCare is a really smart idea.

Whether you buy  AppleCare for your iPod, iPhone, iPad, or AppleTV is worth a bit more consideration. These devices are more likely to be dropped or stolen than require repair for a manufacturing defect.

Here are some additional AppleCare tips:

AppleCare (and the standard 1-year warranty) is good worldwide. You can go to any Apple Authorized Service Provider (such as Austin MacWorks) worldwide and get service.

It is fully transferable. If you sell your machine, AppleCare follows it to the new owner. It’s a great selling point for a used device.

You can return AppleCare at any time for a pro-rated refund, just call 800-APL-CARE.

AppleCare may not be right for everyone, but for the less tech-savvy, having the 800 number to call can be a relief and if something does go wrong, and the cost of parts can easily be much higher than the cost of AppleCare.

If you’re really interested, read the AppleCare terms and conditions. Or give Austin MacWorks a call (512-323-6666); they’re happy to help.

In general, as reliable as Apple products are, we recommend the small extra investment in AppleCare.  Things can go haywire and it’s great to have the peace of mind knowing a quick fix is at hand.  If you use your Mac for work, it’s a no-brainer. If you consider how much it would cost you to not be able to work, the small investment you make in an extended warranty is insurance that will be useful in case of problems.