We get it, your shiny new (probably expensive) Apple product just arrived, and you want to keep it as pristine as possible without damage. But accidents happen. Your i-device’s screen can crack, you can lose it, it can get stolen. Apple knows exactly that these scenarios happen, and offers an insurance plan, AppleCare to reduce your upfront repair cost significantly.
The way this works is that you pay a fixed price typically within 60 days of purchase to enable 24 month AppleCare coverage on your Apple product. Any repair for accidental damage not covered in the warranty will be charged at a nominal cost, like a deductible payment. The coverage is split into 2 types, screen damage and other damage.
Given how notoriously expensive official Apple repair costs are and the decreasing third party repair support for these devices, should you pay for AppleCare in Singapore? Let’s find out.
iPhone
The iPhone, the Apple device you carry around everywhere with you (even the toilet) is probably the most likely to get damaged. And when you do, the repair costs are as follows, taking the brand new iPhone 13 Pro as an example.
| Repair cost without AppleCare for screen damage or other damage (S$) | Repair cost with AppleCare for screen damage or other damage (S$) | Cost of AppleCare (S$) | |
| iPhone 13 | 419 or 819 | 42 or 148 | 269 |
| iPhone 13 Pro | 419 or 819 | 42 or 148 | 369 |
Yup, it is a hefty sum to repair your iPhone through Apple. With the base model iPhone 13 Pro costing S$1649, the screen repair amounts to 25.4% the cost of the device and other damage repair amounts to 49.6%. But with AppleCare, the cost goes down substantially to S$42 and S$148 respectively.
This comes at a cost though. AppleCare for the iPhone 13 Pro costs S$369 for 2 years of coverage, about 22.4% of the device cost. It gets you 2 subsidised repairs every 12 months.
Let’s put this into perspective. Assuming you are an average klutz with AppleCare and crack the screen only once during the 2 years of coverage, you would pay a total of S$369 + S$42 = S$411 for the repair. This comes extremely close to the S$419 you would pay without AppleCare. The costs vary further depending on how careless you are.
| Repair cost with AppleCare (S$) | Repair cost without AppleCare (S$) | |
| Non klutz (does not damage screen during 2 years) | 369 | 0 |
| Average klutz (damages screen once during 2 years) | 411 | 419 |
| Mega klutz (damages screen 2 to 4 times during 2 years) | 453 – 537 | 838 – 1676 |
Now, if you are both a mega klutz and only want official Apple repairs, AppleCare would be worth it for your iPhone. Otherwise, it is really up to every individual to determine if they really need AppleCare, especially when the difference in screen repair costs for an average klutz is so marginal.
Luckily for Singaporeans, third party insurance exists for mobile devices. Instead of getting AppleCare, you can get a third party insurance by DBS, Igloo, Singtel, Starhub and others for possibly more coverage and flexibility. The one that I would go into detail about is DBS Mobile Protect, as it is the most comprehensive one.
DBS MobileProtect
Update: As of 23 December 2021, MobileProtect can no longer be purchased. Current policy holders will be subject to revised coverage that excludes the loss of mobile phone. The premium will also be raised from S$15 per month to S$25 per month.
DBS MobileProtect, underwritten by CHUBB, costs S$15 a month, or $360 for 24 months, similar to what AppleCare costs. Here are the key differences.
| AppleCare | DBS MobileProtect | |
| Price over 24 months (S$) | 369 | 360 |
| Eligibility of device | 60 days from purchase | 36 months from purchase |
| Screen repair cost (S$) | 42 | 75 |
| Other repair cost (S$) | 148 | 75 |
| Replacement cost due to loss or theft (S$) | NA | 150 |
| Number of claims per 12 month period | 2 | 3 |
| Battery Replacement when battery health is below 80% | Yes | No |
| Additional coverage | NA | Up to S$250 for unauthorised network charges Up to S$250 for loss of mobile phone accessories along with device Up to S$500 for unauthorised transactions made using your PayLah! Account, reimbursement of withdrawn cash due to cash out robbery, or replacing important documents. |
| Ability for monthly payments | No | Yes |
| Minimum subscription period | 24 months | 1 month |
As you can see, DBS Mobile Protect offers much more coverage, even providing a one to one replacement for theft and loss, despite costing a smidge lesser than AppleCare. What’s more, there is no minimum subscription period for DBS Mobile Protect, so you can simply cancel the policy anytime when you no longer need the coverage.
There is a catch though. Repairs that are conducted under the DBS Mobile Protect policy are made by third parties, and may not provide the same level of quality and expertise compared to Apple. If you’d like to know more about the policy, view the policy wording here.
iPad
Moving on, iPads. These devices basically own the lion’s share of the tablet market, with the most basic model being extremely affordable for its price, and the most advanced model being industry leading.
The repair costs for each latest model of iPad are as follows, if you unfortunately damage them.
| Repair cost without AppleCare (S$) | Repair cost with AppleCare (S$) | Cost of AppleCare (S$) | |
| iPad (9th generation) | 349 | 68 | 99 |
| iPad Mini (6th generation) | 505 | 68 | 99 |
| iPad Air 4 | 615 | 68 | 99 |
| iPad Pro 11 inch (3rd generation) | 749 | 68 | 199 |
As you can see, the cost of AppleCare remains constant at the low to mid end while the repair cost without AppleCare varies wildly.
A base model iPad (9th generation) that costs S$499 requires S$349 for a repair, or a whopping 70% the cost of the device itself. At the high end, an iPad Pro 11 inch (3rd generation) that costs S$1199 requires S$749 for a repair, or 62.5% the cost of the device.
Unlike AppleCare for iPhones, the total repair cost with AppleCare and the cost of it for the first screen repair does not come close to the repair cost without AppleCare. Here’s my klutz table once again to illustrate, using the iPad Air 4 as an example.
| Repair cost with AppleCare (S$) | Repair cost without AppleCare (S$) | |
| Non klutz (does not damage screen during 2 years) | 99 | 0 |
| Average klutz (damages screen once during 2 years) | 167 | 615 |
| Mega klutz (damages screen 2 to 4 times during 2 years) | 235 – 303 | 1230 – 2460 (just get a new iPad) |
In the iPad’s case, since the price of AppleCare remains the same at S$99 from the 9th generation to the Air 4, the Air 4 is easily the sweet spot for AppleCare. The iPad Air 4 base model costs S$879, so the total cost of an AppleCare repair you’re paying for is just 19% the cost of the device.
What’s more, you are paying substantially less (S$167 vs S$615) for the total repair, if you are an average klutz.
The rule of thumb for iPads is therefore, get it if you own an iPad Mini and above and if you want a peace of mind as they are generally quite affordable.
MacBook
Next, MacBooks. They were the highlights of 2021’s October event, featuring ludicrous speeds, efficiency and…. price. What would it cost to repair your S$3000 base model M1 Pro MacBook Pro? Well, Apple does not provide repair costs without AppleCare but instead asks you to contact a service representative for an estimate.
Anyway, the prices for AppleCare and their respective repair costs for the M1 MacBooks are as follows.
| Repair cost with AppleCare for screen damage or other damage (S$) | Cost of AppleCare (S$) | |
| 13 inch M1 MacBook Air | 138 or 428 | 279 |
| 13 inch M1 MacBook Pro | 138 or 428 | 349 |
| 14 inch M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro | 138 or 428 | 399 |
| 16 inch M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro | 138 or 428 | 579 |
As repair costs outside of AppleCare are unknown, it is hard to determine how AppleCare costs stack up against repairs without AppleCare. However with the pricey new models of the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBooks, AppleCare may be worth it if the total cost of repair works out to being a small percentage of its cost.
Apple Watch
Apple Watch is undoubtedly one of the best smartwatches out there right now with its tight integration in the Apple Ecosystem and gorgeous design. It is also a device that is potentially worn everyday, exposing it to the elements and accidental bumps.
Let’s look at how much the repair costs are for the base-specced newer models.
| Repair cost without AppleCare (S$) | Repair cost with AppleCare (S$) | Cost of AppleCare (S$) | |
| Apple Watch Series 7 | 449 | 118 | 139 |
| Apple Watch SE | 329 | 118 | 89 |
The cost of repairing an Apple Watch, like the iPads without AppleCare, is not cheap at all. But unlike the iPads, the difference in total cost of repairing the watches with and without AppleCare is not that huge.
| Repair cost with AppleCare (S$) | Repair cost without AppleCare (S$) | |
| Non klutz (does not damage screen during 2 years) | 89 – 139 | 0 |
| Average klutz (damages screen once during 2 years) | 207 – 257 | 329 – 449 |
| Mega klutz (damages screen 2 to 4 times during 2 years) | 296 – 674 | 658 – 1796 (just get a new Apple Watch) |
Given that the Apple Watch costs S$599 for the Series 7 and S$419 for the SE, the repair costs without AppleCare (S$449 and S$329) simply don’t make sense. I suspect Apple just gives you a brand new Apple Watch everytime you pay that fee. But even then, the cost of repairing your Apple Watch with AppleCare costs from 43% to 49% of the device’s price.
In this case, it really just boils down to how careless you are, as repairs with or without AppleCare are expensive.
Airpods
Remember the phrase from 2019, “It smells like broke in here” ? Yeah, Airpods are expensive for sure, but they are the most popular bluetooth earphones on the market and bring more revenue than the whole of Nvidia (Yes, the graphics card company).
Let’s see how much repairs costs for these massive money makers.
| Repair cost of each side without AppleCare (S$) | Replacement cost of each side without AppleCare (S$) | Repair cost with AppleCare (S$) | Cost of AppleCare (S$) | |
| Airpods 3rd generation | 99 | 99 | 39 | 49 |
| Airpods Pro | 135 | 135 | 39 | 49 |
Like the Apple Watch, Apple isn’t going to “repair” your Airpods, as seen by the prices, they are going to replace them anyway. One important thing to note is that AppleCare doesn’t cover the loss of Airpods, so you have to pay the replacement costs respectively.
Given that Airpods 3rd generation and Pro cost S$269 and S$379 respectively, the total cost of AppleCare repairs work out to being 33% and 23% of the devices. In my opinion, since Airpods are so small, they are more likely to get lost than damaged for an average klutz. So, it might not be very worth it to get AppleCare for the Airpods.
Conclusion
AppleCare is essentially an insurance product, and like how regular insurance works, you pay premiums to insure against an event. How much you are willing to pay is based on how likely it is for that event happening, and the value it gives you.
If you wish to protect other items other than your i-device, check out Apple’s S$45 Nifty AirTags that allow you to track your items worldwide by leveraging on the Find My network.
Will you get AppleCare or have any thoughts on this article? Leave them in the comments below.
Derrick (Yip Hern) founded Tech Composition to provide valuable insights into the tech and finance world. He loves to scour the web for the best deals and embark on software projects during his free time, a typical geek, right?
