12.9-inch iPad Pro with M1 chip costs $699 to repair without AppleCare+

AppleInsider · May 1, 2021 1:06AM

Apple's latest flagship tablet, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, is its most expensive, and the company on Friday confirmed repairs will be slightly more dear than the 2020 model.

According to an updated repair service document, it will cost users $699 to repair a broken 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M1 chip that is not covered by AppleCare+. That price is $50 more than the repair cost for both the third- and fourth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and $100 more when compared to the fee for a third-generation model.

While Apple does not explain the bump in price, the additional overhead is likely due to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro's mini LED display.

Previous generations, and the current 11-inch iPad Pro, come with Liquid Retina LCD screens, while the new 12.9-inch variant introduces Liquid Retina XDR technology. Instead of a traditional LED backlight, Liquid Retina XDR uses 10,000 mini LEDs segmented into clusters to achieve optimal contrast through local dimming.

All iPad Pro models come with Apple's standard manufacturer's warranty, which covers production flaws and other issues. When the gratis one-year plan expires, owners who don't have AppleCare+ need to foot any subsequent repair bills.

MacRumors spotted the document earlier today.

AppleCare+ for iPad Pro costs $149 for two years or can be purchased as a $7.99 subscription. The subscription service offers coverage for the life of the product.

Apple's 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro hardware went up for sale today alongside the new M1-powered 24-inch iMac and refreshed Apple TV 4K. Delivery times for the tablets and desktop are pushed back into June, with some 12.9-inch iPad Pro configurations seeing ship-by dates slip into July.

dysamoria · May 1, 2021 3:58AM

Repair fee? That’s more like a discount on buying a refurb unit to replace your broken one. What are they repairing? Anything?

In an era where we should have long been reducing materials waste, we have way more completely disposable electronics and appliances.

danox · May 1, 2021 12:11PM

Don’t sit on it, or let your dog sit on it, problem solved.

lkrupp · May 1, 2021 1:19PM

dysamoria said:

Repair fee? That’s more like a discount on buying a refurb unit to replace your broken one. What are they repairing? Anything?

In an era where we should have long been reducing materials waste, we have way more completely disposable electronics and appliances.

What we really should be doing is making it much easier to recycle those ‘disposable electronics and appliances’ instead of them winding up in landfills. Apple touted using 100% recycled aluminum in its Spring Loaded show for example. Maybe Apple should offer some store credit if you bring your old Apple gear in for recycling. Maybe states should reinstitute deposits on glass bottles, aluminum cans, etc. People don’t react to preaching as much as they do to incentives.

georgebmac · May 1, 2021 2:20PM

dysamoria said:

Repair fee? That’s more like a discount on buying a refurb unit to replace your broken one. What are they repairing? Anything?

In an era where we should have long been reducing materials waste, we have way more completely disposable electronics and appliances.

Yeh, that's true....

But, on the other hand, with iPhones and iPads, there are functional reasons -- and consumer benefits -- to packing things in so tightly they cannot be repaired.

The buyer needs to know that they are essentially buying a largely disposable product.

Their only recourse (aside from not buying the product) is AppleCare+.

For myself, I consider AppleCare+ mandatory and just part of the sales price of the product. Between myself and my grandson we own 8 active Apple products and everyone of them is covered by AppleCare+. It is the only aftermarket insurance that I have ever purchased. But I won't be without it. Even if it cannot be justified from the financial side, it provides peace of mind that I can get support if and when I have trouble with the product.

georgebmac · May 1, 2021 2:26PM

AppleInsider said:

...

AppleCare+ for iPad Pro costs $149 for two years or can be purchased as a $7.99 subscription. The subscription service offers coverage for the life of the product.

Apple's 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro hardware went up for sale today alongside the new M1-powered 24-inch iMac and refreshed Apple TV 4K. Delivery times for the tablets and desktop are pushed back into June, with some 12.9-inch iPad Pro configurations seeing ship-by dates slip into July.

Yes, that is true....

But I think readers also need to be aware that, if they take out the $149 plan, they can extend AppleCare+ indefinitely by switching to a monthly subscription when that initial 2 year plan expires. They have 30 days (or is it 60?) to make the switch. But, they have to remember to do it and initiate the process because they do not get any reminders.

To me, that makes enormous sense: the likelihood of needing service increases as the product ages -- which makes AppleCare+ even more likely to be needed.

edited May 2021

outdoorappdeveloper · May 1, 2021 5:59PM

Note that Apple's keyboard cover for the iPad Pro does not protect the corners if it is dropped. A corner strike is how screens get broken (take it from personal experience). You should aways have some soft rubber protection around the corners of an iPad (or iPhone). Apple designs is products for how things look now how they work so even its $300 keyboard cover fails to protect the iPad Pro corners.

edited May 2021

dysamoria · May 2, 2021 1:57PM

lkrupp said:

dysamoria said:

Repair fee? That’s more like a discount on buying a refurb unit to replace your broken one. What are they repairing? Anything?

In an era where we should have long been reducing materials waste, we have way more completely disposable electronics and appliances.

What we really should be doing is making it much easier to recycle those ‘disposable electronics and appliances’ instead of them winding up in landfills. Apple touted using 100% recycled aluminum in its Spring Loaded show for example. Maybe Apple should offer some store credit if you bring your old Apple gear in for recycling. Maybe states should reinstitute deposits on glass bottles, aluminum cans, etc. People don’t react to preaching as much as they do to incentives.

I absolutely agree with you here 👍🏽

dysamoria · May 2, 2021 2:00PM

How much would a customer pay for Apple Care over the anticipated “life” of the product? More or less than this weird minimum/flat-rate(?) “repair” cost?

avon b7 · May 2, 2021 2:17PM

lkrupp said:

dysamoria said:

Repair fee? That’s more like a discount on buying a refurb unit to replace your broken one. What are they repairing? Anything?

In an era where we should have long been reducing materials waste, we have way more completely disposable electronics and appliances.

What we really should be doing is making it much easier to recycle those ‘disposable electronics and appliances’ instead of them winding up in landfills. Apple touted using 100% recycled aluminum in its Spring Loaded show for example. Maybe Apple should offer some store credit if you bring your old Apple gear in for recycling. Maybe states should reinstitute deposits on glass bottles, aluminum cans, etc. People don’t react to preaching as much as they do to incentives.

I agree with you 100%.

Under EU WEEE rules it is actually illegal to send something like an iPad to landfill.

That aside, some points of interest. The cost of safe disposal is actually included in the sale price of all WEEE covered devices. That also includes the transport of devices from your local area. Shops selling these devices have the obligation to accept these products back and local government will normally have collection infrastructure to deal with it too.

I have a large collection centre 15 minutes from my home. There is also a mobile collection centre that stops within walking distance for smaller items and permanent micro collection stations for things like batteries, mobile phones, light bulbs etc. I have 5 dotted of those dotted around in nearby streets.

On top of regular containers for domestic waste (plastics/metals, paper, glass, cooking oil, fabrics, organic waste...). For bulky stuff there is a local government hotline to call (furniture, beds, mattresses , cabinets,..).

No cost, licences etc.

In the case of mobile devices though there is actually value in dead devices in the form of components and recoverable rare earths so it would be nice to see some more competition in that area. Trade ins are nice but I'm sure the consumer could get more back from a used device with more competition.

georgebmac · May 2, 2021 4:45PM

avon b7 said:

lkrupp said:

dysamoria said:

Repair fee? That’s more like a discount on buying a refurb unit to replace your broken one. What are they repairing? Anything?

In an era where we should have long been reducing materials waste, we have way more completely disposable electronics and appliances.

What we really should be doing is making it much easier to recycle those ‘disposable electronics and appliances’ instead of them winding up in landfills. Apple touted using 100% recycled aluminum in its Spring Loaded show for example. Maybe Apple should offer some store credit if you bring your old Apple gear in for recycling. Maybe states should reinstitute deposits on glass bottles, aluminum cans, etc. People don’t react to preaching as much as they do to incentives.

I agree with you 100%.

Under EU WEEE rules it is actually illegal to send something like an iPad to landfill.

That aside, some points of interest. The cost of safe disposal is actually included in the sale price of all WEEE covered devices. That also includes the transport of devices from your local area. Shops selling these devices have the obligation to accept these products back and local government will normally have collection infrastructure to deal with it too.

I have a large collection centre 15 minutes from my home. There is also a mobile collection centre that stops within walking distance for smaller items and permanent micro collection stations for things like batteries, mobile phones, light bulbs etc. I have 5 dotted of those dotted around in nearby streets.

On top of regular containers for domestic waste (plastics/metals, paper, glass, cooking oil, fabrics, organic waste...). For bulky stuff there is a local government hotline to call (furniture, beds, mattresses , cabinets,..).

No cost, licences etc.

In the case of mobile devices though there is actually value in dead devices in the form of components and recoverable rare earths so it would be nice to see some more competition in that area. Trade ins are nice but I'm sure the consumer could get more back from a used device with more competition.

I suspect most or all of that recycled aluminum is not from consumer products but from industrial scraps.

Back in the 70's I worked as a cost accountant for an aluminum extruder. We sold our scrap aluminum for about 2/3's the cost of what we bought the new stuff for.

It was clean 6063, 6061 alloy and mostly it just had to be melted down and reshaped into billet.

12.9-inch iPad Pro with M1 chip costs $699 to repair without AppleCare+

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