AppleCare One Will Protect Multiple Devices in One Plan, Just in Time for an iPhone 17

AppleCare is getting a revamp Wednesday, with Apple announcing the new AppleCare One plan and updates to AppleCare Plus. That new One plan will let you cover multiple devices with a single monthly subscription, and AppleCare is expanding its coverage eligibility to include devices that are up to four years old that remain in good condition. You’ll also be able to get AppleCare with theft and loss coverage for the Apple Watch and the iPad starting Wednesday, which previously was only available for the iPhone.

AppleCare One, which won’t link with the similarly named Apple One subscription service plan, will cover up to three Apple devices for $20 a month. This includes any device Apple currently sells that’s AppleCare eligible, and they can either be added during the first 60 days after a purchase or anytime up to four years after their purchase if they remain in “good condition.” Broadly, this means they must turn on and don’t have a cracked screen. Additional devices can be added to AppleCare One for $6 each.

The new plan will otherwise function in much the same way as AppleCare Plus plans have in the past, allowing for subscribing customers to get device repairs and replacements for a lower service fee than paying for the repair outright.

AppleCare Plus will remain available for getting coverage for single devices, and in some cases, depending on your device setup, it could be the better option. The current rates for covering an iPhone or a Mac laptop, for instance, are roughly $12 and $7 per month, respectively, so covering one of each plus an Apple Watch should make for some savings with the $20 a month AppleCare One plan. But in instances where a customer wouldn’t benefit from AppleCare One, such as covering just an Apple Watch and AirPods, Apple will instead direct the customer toward those original Plus plans.

Both AppleCare One and Plus will come standard with theft and loss coverage for the Apple Watch and the iPad for the first time, but there will no longer be the option to get AppleCare Plus without theft and loss for those two types of devices. This may mean that new AppleCare Plus subscribers will have to pay slightly more, even if they weren’t looking for theft and loss protection. For instance, AppleCare Plus coverage for the Apple Watch Series 10 will rise from $4 a month, or $40 annually, to $5 a month, or $50 annually. 

AppleCare Plus for the iPhone is already only available bundled with theft and loss coverage, as the option to omit such coverage was retired in February. Anyone who currently has an AppleCare plan that doesn’t include theft and loss coverage can continue those terms until they conclude their subscription. Devices that aren’t getting theft and loss coverage, such as Mac computers, AirPods and Apple TV, won’t see a price increase for a Plus plan.

The new AppleCare One plan arrives just two months before we expect Apple to unveil the iPhone 17 line, a move that’ll likely happen in September. Though Apple didn’t hint at the next iPhone in its information about the new coverage plan, the company did say AppleCare One will automatically cover new devices when you purchase them when trading in an older iPhone that’s covered by AppleCare. Therefore, a theoretical iPhone 17 would quickly get added to an AppleCare One plan after being purchased, and automatically replace an iPhone 13 that’s traded in. 

AppleCare One will likely be best for a single user who needs coverage for multiple Apple products, but the bundle service won’t work across an entire family of Apple accounts. That might prove to be a slight point of confusion — for instance, my Apple TV Plus account automatically shares with my parents and brother — and families looking to cover multiple iPhones will either need to pay for each AppleCare Plus plan separately or consider phone insurance alternatives for comparable coverage.

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