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Apple Watch Ultra repairs cost $499 without AppleCare+
You can get an Apple Watch Series 8 cellular model for that price.
A new competitor to AppleCare offers cheaper insurance for smartphones
Zagg’s new mobile device protection plan may be a cheaper third-party option.
Mac owners in the US can now extend their warranty beyond three years
The ongoing coverage will continue to renew annually until a customer cancels it.
AppleCare+ now covers two incidents of accidental damage per year
Replacing an iPhone under theft or loss coverage could be cheaper too.
An AirPods Pro replacement costs $89 per earbud
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given their higher price than the standard AirPods, it'll cost more for you to repair or replace the new AirPods Pro through Apple Support. Out of warranty, the price this time around is $89 per earbud, and it costs the same to have the wireless charging case repaired or replaced. If you lose an AirPods Pro earbud, Apple charges $89 for a new one or $99 to replace a misplaced case.
Phishing scam targets iPhone users with a fake call to ‘Apple Care’
As more and more people use their mobile devices for everyday computing tasks, it makes sense that there would be more attacks. The latest phishing attempt, discovered over at Ars Technica, involves a false webpage that initiates a call on your iPhone. According to the site, when they made the call, they were connected to a fake representative who said he was "Lance Roger from Apple Care." The person quickly hung up as the reporter tried to stall and get more detail on the scam.
HomePod repairs cost nearly as much as a new speaker
If you're getting a HomePod, be sure to place it somewhere safe... depending on what you break, it might be expensive to get a fix. Apple has updated its support pages to reveal that an out-of-warranty HomePod repair will cost $279 (£269). Throw in the shipping fee ($20 US, or £13) for a mail-in repair and you're not far off from the price of a brand new smart speaker. This is one of those times where the AppleCare extended warranty ($78 if you include the incident fee, or £68) may be the better value, at least if you're in a household where an accident is a real possibility.
Vodafone's paid zero-rating Passes are now available
Attention social media butterflies, chatterboxes and serial streamers: Vodafone Passes are now live. If you're catching up, Passes are Vodafone's take on a zero-rating scheme. Unlike Three and some other networks that help you preserve your precious monthly allowance by including, as a standard plan perk, "free" data towards a few services, Passes are paid bolt-ons. Buy the Chat Pass for £3 per month, for example, and you can use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Viber Messenger as much as you want without touching a kilobyte of your regular data ration.
The iPhone 8’s glass back costs way more to repair than the front
Over the last couple of weeks, the price of AppleCare+ has gone up for Plus model iPhones and screen repair for the 6s and newer models has gotten $20 more expensive. However, while screen replacements for phones under AppleCare+ warranty are still $29, that's not the case for replacing the back glass of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, according to AppleInsider.
AppleCare now costs more for larger iPhones
Are you eyeing a larger-screened iPhone, like the iPhone X or 8 Plus? Unfortunately, it'll cost you extra to extend the warranty. Apple has quietly raised the price of AppleCare+ coverage for bigger iPhones, with the price varying depending on what you're getting. If you want to protect any Plus model, it now costs $149/£149 instead of the $129/£129 you continue to pay for mid-size iPhones. And brace yourself if you're getting an iPhone X: it'll cost $199/£199 to get your device covered.
Apple now insures your Mac in case of spills and drops
AppleCare is Apple's extended warranty program for almost all of its products, while AppleCare+ covered iOS devices specifically. That little plus sign is important, too, since it protects your beloved iPhone and iPad against accidental damage. So it's pretty big news that, as of this week, AppleCare+ is now available for Macs, protecting your pricey desktop and laptops against trips, spills and falls.
Apple offers free Smart Keyboard repairs for up to three years
It's been about a year and a half since Apple's iPad Pro hit the market, which means the laptop-ditching early adopters have had plenty of time to mash the keys and put Apple's Smart Keyboard through some rigorous paces. Unfortunately for some users, however, those keyboards have started experiencing some "functional issues" like sticking or unresponsive keys and shoddy connections that make it difficult to actually get some work done. According to an internal memo circulated to Apple Stores and service providers last week, the company plans to address these issues by offering free repairs on any Smart Keyboard within three years of the purchase date.
Dish gets into... the iPhone repair business?
Now this is interesting. Today, satellite TV provider Dish introduced a new service for iPhone repairs in the US. It's an intriguing business decision, considering the company hasn't done anything similar in the past -- unless you take into account fixing its own antennas and set-top boxes. Still, Dish's Executive VP of Operations, John Swieringa, says his team of technicians is "uniquely positioned with the technical know-how" to fix people's broken screens and batteries.
Apple pushes iOS patch to counter the dreaded 'Error 53'
As reported earlier this month by the Guardian, a number of iPhone users -- specifically those who have had their home buttons or screens repaired by third-party technicians -- have had their devices bricked due to "Error 53". This error occurs when the device doesn't recognize the replacement cable running to the home button, throwing the device into a boot loop. Apple announced on Thursday that it is releasing an update to iOS 9.2.1 to counter the issue and restore functionality.
Nexus Protect is Google's answer to AppleCare
Alongside the Nexus 5X and 6P smartphones Google unveiled today, the company announced a new program intended to give butter-fingered customers a little peace of mind. In addition to the one-year warranty every Nexus smartphone is covered by, the Nexus Protect program covers repair and replacement costs for mechanical breakdowns and accidental damage for two years. Basically, it's Google's version of AppleCare, and should the extra-clumsy destroy their phones somehow, they can expect a replacement as early as the next business day. Obviously, these guarantees come at a price, but if you're a serial screen smasher, then it could be worth your while to Nexus Protect your 5X for $69, or your new 6P for $89.
After Math: Ancient galaxies, massive megapixels and everything iPhone 6s
On this week's After Math we look at a galaxy barely newer than the universe that spawned it. We also check out an imaging sensor that makes Apple's iSight like like a tintype, 360-degrees of GoPro and a whole bunch of other stuff you didn't know you wanted to learn about.
AppleCare+ for iPhone 6s costs $30 more than iPhone 6 coverage
AppleCare+ covers your new iPhone in the event it breaks or is damaged, and for the iPhone 6, a year of service costs $100. AppleCare+ for the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, however, will set you back $130. Additionally, the charge for accidental damage is higher with Apple's latest models, up from $80 for iPhone 6 or earlier versions to $100 for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
Here's how much you'll pay to protect that Apple Watch
Scores of you - an obscene number, maybe - have already pre-ordered your Apple Watch. Perhaps you even sauntered into a well-appointed Apple Store-within-a-store for some valuable shopping advice before you took the plunge. Regardless, after you've made up your mind about which fancy wrist-computer will be yours in several weeks, you might want to take a look at how much Apple wants to protect it for you.
Yes, you can replace the Apple Watch battery (through Apple)
If you've considered getting an Apple Watch, you've probably wondered about what happens when that battery eventually runs dry. Surely Apple would have a way to keep your timepiece running for more than a couple of years, right? Yes, it does. The company has confirmed to TechCrunch that the battery "is replaceable" -- by Apple, that is. There's no mention of how much a replacement costs when you're out of warranty (we've reached out to learn more), but a quick look at the fine print on product pages shows that you'll get in-warranty coverage if your battery has lost 50 percent or more of its capacity. That could be an issue if you depend on the Watch often, since the battery life may become unacceptably short before you qualify for a free fix.
Apple and IBM team up to put more iOS devices in the workplace
If you had any lingering notions that Apple and IBM were still bitter arch-rivals, they just got swept away. The two companies have just launched a partnership that could give iPads and iPhones a much larger presence in the workaday world. IBM has agreed to develop over 100 enterprise-grade apps solely for iOS, along with iOS-focused cloud services; it will also sell Apple's mobile gear as part of its larger solutions, and it's even handling on-site support. Apple, meanwhile, is offering a special business-friendly support plan.
