AppleCare+

I recently shattered the screen of my iPhone 6S. Since then, every Apple fan I've spoken with has asked me if I have AppleCare+, and each has given me the same pitying look of sympathy when I say no. "You should really get that," they say. Well, today I looked at the numbers and I still don't see a point to Apple's warranty program for iPhones.

AppleCare+ can be purchased for an iPhone 6S at $129. With it, comes discounted pricing for two¹ incidents of accidental damage. An iPhone 6S screen repair, for example, costs $99 on AppleCare+ and $129 without.

Had I purchased AppleCare+, my screen repair would have been $228², instead of $129. If I were to damage my phone's screen a second time, yes that would cost me $99 on AppleCare+. But that's $99 on top of the $228 I've already paid, or $327. Without AppleCare+, the same two screen repairs cost $258.

AppleCare+ only starts to make fiscal sense when you need to replace the entire phone. At that point, it costs the same $228 for the first incident, instead of $299 without AppleCare+. I'd rather keep my money with me, instead of anticipating a need to replace my entire phone.

---

^{1. Meaning that by the third incident, you've lost out on discounted repairs. ↩︎}

^{2. $99 Accidental Damage Incident + $129 AppleCare+ = $228 ↩︎}