When buying an Apple phone, laptop, tablet, or smartwatch, adding AppleCare+ for a couple of years gives you peace of mind in case something goes wrong. But now you don't need to limit how long the coverage lasts as Apple decided to turn it into a subscription service.
AppleCare+ offers support for your Apple device in case of accidental damage, technical problems, or a hardware fault. Typically this extended coverage is purchased upfront for two years, or the cost is split down into monthly payments. However, as 9To5Mac reports, with the iPhone 11 reveal yesterday, Apple has quietly updated its AppleCare+ options.
As well as still being able to purchase coverage upfront, Apple now offers AppleCare+ as a subscription. It means your device can be covered indefinitely as long as you keep paying the monthly charge, or Apple tells you your device is too old to continue being covered by AppleCare+.
For Apple, embracing a subscription model means the potential for customers to pay a lot more for AppleCare+ if they keep using the same device for several years. For consumers, it means peace of mind for the lifetime of the Apple device they purchased with a regular, and hopefully low, monthly payment.
The cost of the AppleCare+ subscription will vary depending on the Apple device purchased. We know the upfront cost of AppleCare+ for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro will be $149 and $199 respectively, but the monthly subscription charge won't be known until the phones launch later this month.
For now, it seems the subscription option will be limited to the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch range. If it proves popular I suspect Apple will extend it to include Apple TV and the full range of Mac hardware, too.