Apple hikes out-of-warranty replacement costs for iPad Pros to as much as $649
People buying Apple's 2018 iPad Pros, announced earlier on Tuesday, may seriously want to consider AppleCare+ or a rugged case, as the company has raised the cost of out-of-warranty replacements versus older models.
An 11-inch 2018 Pro is $499 to replace, versus $449 for last year's 10.5-inch Pro, Apple noted in support documents. Replacing the new 12.9-inch tablet will cost $649, well more than the $599 for prior generations.
The higher prices are presumably because of technical improvements, including edge-to-edge displays, TrueDepth cameras for Face ID, and the swapping of Lightning for USB-C. The display is often one of the most expensive parts in any Apple device.
Apple's updated tablets are also capable of wireless charging the second-generation Apple Pencil, which sticks to the side of Pros magnetically and incorporates new tap gestures.
An AppleCare+ plan for the new Pros is $129. This extends warranty and support coverage to two years, and allows two incidents of accidental damage for just $49 per service request. Any Apple Pencil bought in tandem is included, with a cost of $29 for accidental Pencil damage.
An 11-inch 2018 Pro is $499 to replace, versus $449 for last year's 10.5-inch Pro, Apple noted in support documents. Replacing the new 12.9-inch tablet will cost $649, well more than the $599 for prior generations.
The higher prices are presumably because of technical improvements, including edge-to-edge displays, TrueDepth cameras for Face ID, and the swapping of Lightning for USB-C. The display is often one of the most expensive parts in any Apple device.
Apple's updated tablets are also capable of wireless charging the second-generation Apple Pencil, which sticks to the side of Pros magnetically and incorporates new tap gestures.
An AppleCare+ plan for the new Pros is $129. This extends warranty and support coverage to two years, and allows two incidents of accidental damage for just $49 per service request. Any Apple Pencil bought in tandem is included, with a cost of $29 for accidental Pencil damage.
Comments
An odd-manufacturing cost increase has nothing to do with how companies price products. Note that all of Apple's pricing ends in "$...99". Apple will always increase by round figures. And the increases are not exactly $50. The last price on the 12.9" iPad Pro 512GB WiFi was $1279 (it was originally $1229) and it's now $1499, an increase of $220. 64GB went from $929 to $1149, also $220. Does the A12X cost so much more than the A10X?
And it's great for Apple's bottom line, assuming they don't have reduced sales because of it. I've written this before, but I believe that the massive salaries paid to Apple executives and managers are warping their perceptions about what prices mean to people of average or average plus incomes. We should be benefiting from cost reductions in technology more than we are. A topped-out MBA is $2599, a topped-out MBP is $6699 and a topped-out new MacMini is $4299. IMO, those are all completely absurd prices as is $1500 for an iPad Pro 12.9" with 512K and WiFi (and $1900 for 1TB). Pads were supposed to be (in part) lower-priced alternatives to computers.
Apple used to tend to provide newer tech at the same price as the older tech. IMO, these price increases are just greed.