Recent comments in /f/iphone

Skylantech t1_iu4d8u2 wrote

Reply to comment by 47FsXMj in What’s your favorite paid app(s) and why? by thevillagerok

I've used Edison mail since forever. On IOS it's called Email - Edison Mail. I use it for 5 different emails and love it. Never had any problems.

They're pretty serious about privacy and specifically state that all emails are fetched from your phone and stored on your device directly.

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gnulynnux t1_iu4cxap wrote

Reply to Folks, I am first time iPhone user. I am just loving the experience so far(14 pro max). I bought the leather cover as well. So wanted you opinions if AppleCare is worth it, it’s quite expensive to be honest by Onion_rings_

AppleCare+ is not worth it unless you live in a high-theft area or if you lose or break your devices very regularly.

I'd not buy AppleCare+, because I've never broken or lost a phone (in ~10 years of phone ownership). I'd estimate I lose/break my phone every >10 years.

How does this math work? Let me break it down:

AppleCare+ for losing/destroying a phone:

If I remember the prices correctly, it's $150/year, and then you pay $150 for theft or damage. Let's say you have a $1200 iPhone Pro Max, and to be generous to Apple, let's assume you would lose or irreparably damage the device. (So, we're looking at a $1200 replacement cost.)

This means paying $150 yearly for AppleCare would save you $1050 in replacement costs. Put another way, this only makes sense if $150 <= $1050 * p, where p is the probability you break your phone. This comes out to exactly p = 1/7.

This means AppleCare+ only makes sense if you expect there's a 14% chance to lose or break your phone. Put another way, this would only make sense if you lose or break your phone once every seven years.

AppleCare+ for breaking a screen:

If I remember correctly, AppleCare+ also covers screen repairs, bringing them to $50 down from $300. By similar math, this makes sense only if you break your screen once every two years.

Note I don't have the exact numbers for your specific iPhone, so YMMV, but these numbers should be ballpark.

A note on insurance

The cost-benefit analysis of health insurance is a little different.

I buy health-insurance, even though the math loses out in my favor if we look at dollar costs.

For example, say my estimated health costs are $150, but I pay $200 in insurance monthly. Why?

Because the $400 costs more than $400, because I do not have $100K. If I needed $100K treatment, I would not be able to afford it, so I would die. (I'm in the USA.) My life costs more than $100K.

But for a phone? If I lost a $1200 phone, I can pay for that since I have $1200 in my bank account. So the $1200 only costs $1200.

Even if you can't afford $1200, you can still get a cheaper phone (~$50 for a very cheap Android or $450 for the cheapest iPhone), so you are not locked entirely out of modern life. This also factors into the cost benefit analysis: Are you willing to go down for a cheaper phone if you destroy or lose this one?

A note on repair costs

These are also using Apple's quotes for repair costs. These numbers don't factor in cheaper repair costs from third-party repair shops. These make AppleCare+ less necessary.

TLDR:

Unlike "real insurance", this is a straight cost-benefit analysis, assuming you have ~$2000 'free money' to your name.

AppleCare+ only makes sense if you lose/destroy your phones ~every 7 years, or shatter your screen once ~every 2 years. (These numbers may vary.)

So,

Extra money you have How often you break or lose your phone Get AppleCare+?
Enough to buy a new phone Rarely No
Enough to buy a new phone Often Yes
Enough only to buy AppleCare + Never No
Enough only to buy AppleCare + Rarely Maybe
Enough only to buy AppleCare + Often Yes
Not enough to buy a new phone or AppleCare+ N/A No
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