Apple has raised the price of AppleCare+ subscriptions for new Mac and iPad customers, adding another expense to hardware that already became considerably more expensive last month. AppleCare+ provides technical support and repair coverage for accidental damage and other eligible issues.
Monthly AppleCare+ plans for Macs and iPads now cost $0.50 more, while annual plans have increased by $5. Existing subscribers will continue paying their current rates, as the change only applies to new sign-ups.
How much more will AppleCare+ cost?
For the 13-inch MacBook Air, AppleCare+ now costs $7.99 per month instead of $7.49, while the annual plan has risen from $74.99 to $79.99. Similar price increases apply to the Mac mini, Mac Studio, iMac, MacBook Pro, the standard iPad, M4 and M5 iPad Pro models, and the iPad mini. The increase looks small on its own, but it arrives shortly after Apple raised prices across its Mac, iPad, Vision Pro, HomePod, and Apple TV lineups. The current iPhone 17 lineup was the notable exception.
To soften the sticker shock after raising iPad prices, the Cupertino giant recently began offering three-year carrier financing on cellular models. The longer payment period lets buyers spread the cost over 36 months instead of relying on Apple Card’s 12-month financing plan.
Apple’s higher costs are spreading beyond hardware
Bloomberg links the latest increase to the global memory shortage and other challenges facing Apple. Demand for DRAM and NAND from AI companies has sent component costs climbing, forcing Apple to raise the prices across its mainline products after shielding customers for months.
The AppleCare+ adjustment may be another way for Apple to ease some of that pressure across its wider hardware business. It does not prove that memory costs directly caused the subscription increase, but the timing makes the connection difficult to overlook.
The iPhone may be next. Multiple supply chain reports suggest the iPhone 18 Pro lineup will cost significantly more than the current generation. The 1TB iPhone 18 Pro Max could reportedly rise by as much as $300, potentially pushing its price to $1,899.