AppleCare
Warranty plan in Computers
People recommend AppleCare for free or low-cost repairs and replacements, especially on laptops. Critics say it is pricey, pushed hard, and feels like a required purchase because out-of-warranty repairs cost so much.
People recommend AppleCare for free or low-cost repairs and replacements, especially on laptops. Critics say it is pricey, pushed hard, and feels like a required purchase because out-of-warranty repairs cost so much.
71 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 42
- criticize it
- 29
- approval share
- 59%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 42 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Free repairs and replacements
“had the whole top case swapped for free multiple times throughout the three years that the coverage lasted”
Comment from 8 Mar 2026 in “FrameBook” “I have walked out of the store with a brand new device a half-dozen times with only a few questions asked.”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” “I recently had to service a battery and they replaced a top case and a keyboard free of charge”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” - Comment from 11 Nov 2025 in “iPhone Pocket”
- Comment from 30 May 2026 in “It's hard to justify buying a Framework 12”
- Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “The struggle of resizing windows on macOS Tahoe”
- Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “Apple's MacBook Neo makes repairs easier and cheaper than other MacBooks”
- Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Framework's new Linux laptop is selling faster than its Windows one”
Cheap compared with repair costs
“they provide absolutely stellar support, especially with the stupidly inexpensive Apple Care insurance”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “AirPods libreated from Apple's ecosystem” “I had the entire laptop replaced for $99 when its battery got bad and the screen cracked”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “I said no and Apple said yes” “MacBooks, especially with AppleCare, are an irreplaceable deal.”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “It's hard to justify buying a Framework 12” - Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix”
- Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “Apple accelerates eco progress with highest-ever recycled materials”
Peace of mind for accidents
“I'm grateful to myself that I had AC+ because I might have as well just bought another laptop if not.”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo” “Having AC+, lets me treat the device with the level of carelessness that is worth the price to me.”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” “I would not buy any laptop without 2-3 years of warranty support / Apple Care.”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “MacBook Neo Is a 'Shock' to the PC Industry: Asus Co-CEO” - Comment from 22 May 2026 in “Was my $48K GPU server worth it?”
- Comment from 27 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: MacBook vs. Dedicated GPU for LLM”
Good support and easy service
“Was able to just book a service appt from the Apple store in Valencia”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “Apple may have an iPhone 18 Pro demand problem” “Apple has extremely high standards for their support advisors.”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “Nothing works and everyone is euphoric” “I've had good luck with AppleCare and warranty service”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Turn off Apple Intelligence on macOS 27 and get its disk space back”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
High repair prices push subscriptions
“the "repair fee" for AirPods is such a high percentage of the replacement price that it just is not worth it”
Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” “kind of forces you subscribe to it by having absurdly high parts replacement prices”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “Apple's MacBook Neo makes repairs easier and cheaper than other MacBooks” “$400 service which for an older macbook costs almost as much as the whole thing”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Getting GLM 5.2 running on my slow computer” Constant nudging to subscribe
“Can't dismiss them - you just have to have a red notification icon until they expire.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line” “It will never stop telling you to setup Apple Pay and Siri and offering Apple Care.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line” “It's constantly nudging you to subscribe to some Apple service, like AppleCare”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line” Poor value for many buyers
“It's bordering on insurance fraud and I usually trade-in my devices back to Apple so I don't bother with it”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” “ApplecCare is as much a warranty as their Apple's phone are guaranteed waterproof. It's marketing.”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “There's a high chance of devices being sold with GrapheneOS preinstalled in 2027” “buying Apple care is ensuring you lose since you pay for a new phone whether you break it or not”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” - Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Framework's new Linux laptop is selling faster than its Windows one”
Repair hassles and blame
“Would NOT authorize a mail in repair. Would only authorize walk in to my local shitty Apple authorized third party repair center”
Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” “Apple Care put me through the reinstall OS / remove all external devices tap-dance for weeks”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5” “They blamed it on me because of an dent about 1mm wide I never noticed on the back corner.”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix”
What people said
40 of the 77 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Was able to just book a service appt from the Apple store in Valencia”
“I've had good luck with AppleCare and warranty service”
“ApplecCare is as much a warranty as their Apple's phone are guaranteed waterproof. It's marketing.”
“I had the entire laptop replaced for $99 when its battery got bad and the screen cracked”
“I pay a monthly fee for the right to pay Apple more money to repair my phone.”
“Apple has extremely high standards for their support advisors.”
“$400 service which for an older macbook costs almost as much as the whole thing”
“it's a MacBook so AppleCare+ has your back”
“the employee said “Oh man, I hate it when that happens!” and approved it.”
“It was covered by AppleCare, and Apple replaced it.”
“MacBooks, especially with AppleCare, are an irreplaceable deal.”
“I have some peace of mind comfort about applecare and technical repair”
“it's not much different than an insurance policy that lends me a rental car while mine's in the shop”
“it certainly isn't worthwhile the extra cost when one needs to top it up with Apple Care”
“we got a new one no questions asked”
“AppleCare is extremely cheap and comprehensive.”
“I have walked out of the store with a brand new device a half-dozen times with only a few questions asked.”
“They blamed it on me because of an dent about 1mm wide I never noticed on the back corner.”
“I recently had to service a battery and they replaced a top case and a keyboard free of charge”
“buying Apple care is ensuring you lose since you pay for a new phone whether you break it or not”
“It's bordering on insurance fraud and I usually trade-in my devices back to Apple so I don't bother with it”
“Having AC+, lets me treat the device with the level of carelessness that is worth the price to me.”
“For the XDR alone it's worth it, since replacing the screen is a multi-$1k repair.”
“AppleCare is leaps and bounds better than any other insurance you can buy for mobile or laptops.”
“the "repair fee" for AirPods is such a high percentage of the replacement price that it just is not worth it”
“Would NOT authorize a mail in repair. Would only authorize walk in to my local shitty Apple authorized third party repair center”
“AppleCare is honestly a great deal, especially for laptops”
“In what world is $150 “way too high” for a battery and a keyboard replacement on a laptop, including installation? Ever looked at pricing from OEMs on their batteries?”
“kind of forces you subscribe to it by having absurdly high parts replacement prices”
“It covered around €3000 in repairs.”
“I would not buy any laptop without 2-3 years of warranty support / Apple Care.”
“had the whole top case swapped for free multiple times throughout the three years that the coverage lasted”
“I'm grateful to myself that I had AC+ because I might have as well just bought another laptop if not.”
“Apple Care put me through the reinstall OS / remove all external devices tap-dance for weeks”
“I got thousands in repairs covered for free”
“they provide absolutely stellar support, especially with the stupidly inexpensive Apple Care insurance”
“I was pleasantly surprised that AppleCare replaced it.”
“It will never stop telling you to setup Apple Pay and Siri and offering Apple Care.”
“Can't dismiss them - you just have to have a red notification icon until they expire.”
“It's constantly nudging you to subscribe to some Apple service, like AppleCare”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.