Is Apple Care+ worth buying? After using it for a few years, I want to tell you...
In recent years, although the prices of Apple products have dropped to some extent, their high official repair costs still shock people. To allow users to use their devices with more peace of mind, Apple has launched the considerate AppleCare+ service, which shares the risks brought by accidental device damage through a subscription system. Meanwhile, if you often buy products at Apple Stores, you may notice that Apple employees, who have always "never promoted" products, are now recommending this service to you more frequently. Based on my personal experience of purchasing AppleCare+ and using Apple devices in recent years, this article will discuss whether AppleCare+ is really worth buying.
First, let me state my conclusion. I still recommend purchasing AppleCare+, but I also want to remind you that the actual services provided by AppleCare+ may not be as ideal as what Apple officially promotes. For the sake of brevity, it will be referred to as AC+ hereinafter.
The main selling points of AppleCare+ on the official website
Personal Experiences
Experience 1: Regretting not buying AC+ after the Face ID broke
In 2020, I bought an iPhone 12 at the Grand Joy City in Xi'an for the original price of 6,799 yuan. I always used it with a screen protector and a case, thinking I had protected it well. However, unfortunately, the Face ID of the phone was accidentally damaged in 2022. The official repair quote was 3,448 yuan, almost equal to the second - hand residual value of the phone. I struggled to use it for some time and tried to repair it on Taobao and offline multiple times without success. Finally, I had no choice but to sell it for 1,000 yuan. I really regretted not buying AC+ at that time.
Experience 2: Bought AC+ but never used it
After the previous lesson, I carefully studied the service content of AC+. In March 2023, during the 10 - billion subsidy event on PDD, I bought an iPhone 14 in mid - night black with 256GB of storage. After the discount, the price was 5,729 yuan, exactly saving the cost of an AC+ compared to the original price.
This time, within 60 days after activation, I purchased the AppleCare+ service at the Apple Wangfujing Store for 1,199 yuan and renewed it in June 2025 with an annual fee of 699 yuan. At that time, I thought that at least I could enjoy a free battery replacement.
However, when it was time to recycle the phone, the phone had been used intensively for two and a half years, and the body was full of scratches. But the battery health was still 85%. From my observation, for current iPhones, unless there is a battery malfunction, it is really difficult to reduce the battery health to below 80% within the two - year basic service period of AC+. During the service period of the iPhone 14, the charging port malfunctioned due to water ingress at the seaside. The tail plug assembly and the battery were replaced, but I didn't use AC+, and the whole repair process was free. It seems that this time, AC+ didn't really play its role.
The battle - damaged state of the iPhone 14 used without a case
Experience 3: Decided to buy AC+ again after much consideration when trading in the old phone offline
In October 2025, one month after the release of the iPhone 17 series and when the National Day holiday was almost over, I learned that there were in - stock Pro models at the Beijing stores, so I placed an order and chose the "trade - in" option. My previous iPhone 14 could be traded in for 1,800 yuan (including a 100 - yuan upgrade discount).
When I arrived at the store, since it was still the hot - selling period of the new phone, even if I arrived at the appointed time, I still had to wait in line for a salesperson to assist me. After waiting for about 10 minutes, the clerk verified my ID, fetched the new phone, and started evaluating the old phone. My iPhone 14 had always been used without a case, with dents on all four corners and several deep scratches on the screen, but it didn't affect the valuation. Compared with third - party platforms, Apple's official recycling is indeed more "generous".
In addition, the unused AppleCare service for the old phone can be cancelled. The clerk will help you make a phone appointment, and then the official customer service will contact you and refund the money on a daily basis. Throughout the process, the customer service staff was kind and gentle - spoken, and you could even choose the music you wanted to listen to. However, the process was a bit cumbersome - even though I was in the Apple Store, I still had to communicate by phone and be transferred between two departments before the issue was finally resolved. It's really a problem of big companies.
Finally, I swiped my card, applied for an installment - plan payment, inspected the new phone, and then left the store with the new phone.
In order to extend the service period of AC+ in the first two years as much as possible, I still decided to purchase AC+ at the Apple Store within 60 days.
Getting a new phone
Tips:
1. You can cancel the AppleCare service by yourself in the "Support" section. Just note that don't let anything go wrong during the period from canceling the service to going to the Apple Store. Otherwise, you'll have to have a polite conversation with the customer service in the noisy environment of the Apple Store and waste another ten minutes.
2. If you choose the "trade - in" option online, Apple will arrange to pick up your old iPhone. The advantage is that you have 14 days to back up and clean your data at ease. However, if you want to recycle the phone on - site, you don't need to choose the option in advance. Just enter the device serial number to check the estimated amount, and then tell the clerk at the store when you pick up the new phone. You still need to place a new order and cancel the original one when trading in the phone at the store.
Is AC+ worth buying?
First of all, providing insurance services for hardware devices is not an original idea of Apple. Even in China, where people are not very willing to pay for software, it has long been a common practice in daily life. For example, the vehicle damage insurance for cars. In essence, it is all about dealing with high repair costs and dispersing risks at a relatively low cost through financial means. Looking at the increasingly high repair costs of Apple products nowadays, once your device is accidentally damaged and sent to the official repair channel, the cost may sometimes be almost equal to buying a new phone. Regarding whether it is recommended to buy AC+, let's consider the following specific situations separately:
1. Those who prefer using the phone without a case for a better feel
It is recommended to buy AC+, but it is still advisable to use a screen protector. Nowadays, the products of most mobile phone film manufacturers have significantly improved in terms of light transmittance and touch feel. Except that the sharp transition at the joint between the edge of the film and the phone body may slightly affect the feel, the experience is almost the same as using the phone without a protector. More importantly, using a screen protector allows you to "refresh" the oleophobic layer irregularly by replacing the film, maintaining the smooth touch of the screen in the long run. For my iPhone 14, which I used without a case, the oleophobic layer was almost worn out in less than a year. Although the display was still clear, the sliding feel became significantly rough.
2. Those who expect to get a free battery replacement through AC+
It is not recommended to buy AC+ as it may be difficult to achieve in practice. Based on my own experience, after using the iPhone 14 for more than two and a half years, the battery health was still 85%. As the battery capacity of iPhones continues to increase, the number of charge - discharge cycles decreases accordingly, making it not easy for the battery to show obvious degradation within two years. When the battery health drops below 90%, the significant decrease in battery life will significantly affect your daily experience. When the battery life is at its worst, it's better to consider buying a new phone directly.
3. Those who are prone to dropping their phones
It is recommended to buy AC+. However, it should be noted that in most cases, Apple products need to be sent back to the factory for repair, and it is almost impossible to get an on - the - spot replacement at the store. Fortunately, Apple stores usually provide loaner devices. Some clerks may even suggest that you buy a new device first and then return it without a reason after getting your repaired old phone back.
4. Those who don't have an Apple Store in their local area
It is not recommended to buy AC+. Although authorized repair shops provide the same services, the service quality is much lower. For example, employees at Apple Stores will try their best to reproduce the fault to solve your problem, while employees at authorized shops may have concerns about their performance and will first ask you to prove that the fault exists. If you can't reproduce the fault on - site, you may have to have some arguments before getting the phone repaired.
For those who have bought AC+, it's also a good idea to let Apple officially recycle your battle - damaged old device
When your time is very precious and you want to properly handle your old and new devices at once, you can first check the price quote of your device on well - known second - hand platforms and then compare it with Apple's official recycling price to see if the price difference is worth your time.
If your phone is in good condition but has been used without a case and a screen protector for a long time like mine, Apple's official recycling price may sometimes be higher than that of second - hand platforms, showing unexpected "tolerance".
Finally, if you prefer the offline experience and want to communicate face - to - face with the Apple Store employees who love Apple and share your nostalgia for the old device and your joy for the new one, just let Apple officially recycle your old phone.
These are my insights from using AC+ in recent years. I hope they will be helpful to you!
Original link:
https://sspai.com/post/103020?utm_source=wechat&utm_medium=social
This article is from the WeChat official account "Sspai" (ID: sspaime). Author: Bie Re Xiao Zha Mao, Editor - in - charge: Tp. Republished with permission by 36Kr.