Apple is making major changes to its AppleCare plans for iPhone and iPad buyers. When considering an AppleCare+ plan, shoppers now reportedly have a 60-day window after their iPhone/iPad purchase, instead of the previous 30 days. The one exception to this is in Japan, where the old limit is still in effect.
In the US, Canada, and Japan, Apple is dropping the less expensive vanilla AppleCare plan for iPhones and iPads, which doesn’t include any reduced fees for fixing/replacing damaged hardware. That means that people will either have to choose AppleCare+ or accept default warranty coverage, which spans just one year and includes only 90 days of support service.
AppleCare for other devices like Macs and iPods is unaffected. The change is believed to be part of an effort to boost AppleCare+ subscriptions, which in the US cost $99 per device. These get buyers two-year warranties, and allow for two incidents of accident support at $79 each. Defective units are dealt with for free.
