AppleCare One Is Here: This Is What The Warranty Plan Offers

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If you're budget-conscious, buying a new Apple product — such as the new MacBook Air M4 — can be a stressful experience considering its premium price tag. You may even try to save money where you can, as you select your build, sacrificing RAM or disk space to save a few hundred dollars. Choosing whether or not to purchase AppleCare+ may also be a tough decision, as it will add to the cost, but it may also save you money in the long run if the device gets damaged.

While you can usually expect a one-year limited warranty when purchasing most new Apple products, this warranty doesn't cover accidental damage, which anyone with a cracked iPhone screen knows is certainly a possibility. AppleCare+ offers supplemental insurance that covers unlimited incidents of accidental damage, as well as theft and loss protection (at an added cost). Plus, it comes with a free battery replacement if your iPhone's battery health drops below 80% of its maximum capacity.

If you own multiple Apple products, these AppleCare+ plans can add up, but you may be able to save money with Apple's newest offering: AppleCare One. Apple has increasingly made subscriptions a core part of its revenue, and AppleCare One is its latest monthly service. Instead of adding AppleCare+ to each Apple product you buy, you can sign up for AppleCare One and have all your devices covered for a single monthly fee. This can simplify both your budget and the process of buying a new Apple device. AppleCare One offers the same benefits as AppleCare+, including 24/7 priority customer support and expedited Apple-certified service, while also expanding theft and loss protection to the iPad and Apple Watch if you add these devices to your plan. (Previously, only the iPhone could be covered.)

You can still purchase AppleCare+ upfront if you want, though it's now only available online. However, you can save a decent amount of money with an AppleCare One subscription, depending on how many devices you need to cover. AppleCare One starts at $19.99 per month and can cover up to three different Apple devices that you own. You can add additional Apple products to the plan for $5.99 each.

Traditional AppleCare+ has different fees for each product. For example, two years of AppleCare+ coverage (with theft and loss protection) for an iPhone goes for $219, while iPad coverage costs $34.99 per year. A 16-inch MacBook Pro plan costs $399 for three years. By pooling your multiple devices under a single AppleCare One subscription, you can spend less than what you'd pay for individual AppleCare+ plans for each. Apple states that AppleCare One pricing is the same for all its products. If you enroll an iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch under the $19.99 plan, you can save up to $11 per month.

However, AppleCare One can actually be more expensive than AppleCare+, depending on what you're already paying for. Because theft and loss coverage is now automatically included and you can't opt out, if you're only using AppleCare One for a single iPhone and nothing else, you'll be paying more than you would for an AppleCare+ plan with no theft/loss coverage. Either way, you should also remember that both plans, like traditional insurance, include deductibles you'll also need to pay for in the event of any damage, which also vary per device. A standard Apple Watch has a $69 deductible, for example, while a Mac display has a $99 deductible.

Another benefit of AppleCare One is that you will be able to add Apple products you already own to your coverage, whether they are one of the three included with the $19.99 plan or a $5.99 additional device. Traditionally, AppleCare+ could only be added to a device within 60 days of purchasing it. With AppleCare One, you can now add older devices that you may not have already covered for any number of reasons, like saving money at the time of purchase. Devices up to four years old can be added to your AppleCare One subscription, provided they are in good condition.

You can also move your devices in and out of AppleCare One whenever you want. If you feel an aging Apple Watch is no longer worth covering, you can remove it. If you realize your new AirPods Pro are at more risk for theft or damage than you originally thought, you can immediately add them to your plan.

This also makes replacing your Apple devices with newer ones less complicated, since you can't transfer traditional AppleCare+ to a new device (though it is technically possible to transfer your AppleCare+ plan to a new owner if you sell or give away your old device).