Apple Care One: one plan to cover them all.
Apple is expanding its services portfolio with a new multi-device protection plan dubbed Apple Care One. The new plan bundles coverage for up to three Apple devices—such as an iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch—under a single monthly subscription. Apple has begun offering the new service for $19.99/month as of July 24th and allows customers to add additional devices for $5.99/month each. The plan includes standard AppleCare+ benefits like accidental damage protection and 24/7 support and extends theft and loss coverage beyond iPhone to iPad and Apple Watch for the first time.
Unlike the existing AppleCare+ plans, AppleCare One lets users enroll devices that are up to four years old (or one year for accessories like AirPods), as long as they pass a diagnostics test remotely or physically at an Apple store. Apple also allows customers to transfer the coverage to new devices: if a customer upgrades a covered device through Apple, the new product is automatically added to the plan. Notably, unlike the Apple Care+ plan, which can be purchased with a discount when paid annually ($99.99/year instead of $9.99/month for 12 months), the new Apple Care One plan does not have an annual payment option.
The Circana Take:
- AppleCare One is being marketed as a more economical option for customers with multiple Apple products. Subscribing to individual AppleCare+ plans for multiple devices (iPhone + iPad + Apple Watch) costs $8/month to $11/month. Thus, we expect regular Apple Care+ customers who have invested heavily in the Apple device ecosystem to upgrade to the new One plan.
- According to the latest Connected Intelligence surveys, almost half (48%) of iPhone users own an iPad in their household. Also, a record 42% of them own an Apple Watch. Apple has been highly successful in iPhone insurance attach rates sold through its own retail stores and online store. Based on the latest data from Circana’s Phone Insurance Report (publishing later this week), 52% of iPhone users who purchase their phones from Apple retail stores will be prime targets for the new Apple Care One plan as Apple retail shoppers also over-index in Apple Watch and iPad adoption.
- All postpaid carriers offer device insurance programs (run by third-party insurance companies such as Assurant) and enjoy relatively high attach rates for phones sold through carrier retail channels as store reps are commissioned for each new insurance package activation. Smartphone brands such as Apple and Samsung have long been bypassing carriers to directly reach out to their users via user interface notifications. Apple’s new Care One program will limit carriers’ ability to sign up customers who own multiple Apple devices on their programs.
- Circana’s new Phone Insurance Report gauged consumer interest in purchasing insurance from the same brand for multiple device categories. According to the latest survey results, more than half of customers who purchased insurance for their smartphones show genuine interest (extremely or very interested) in a bundle insurance package for multiple products from the same brand. There are several consumer profiles that indeed over-index in interest in such bundle insurance plans for multi-device packages. Please contact us for further information on these profiles and other topics related to consumers’ behaviors and experiences around phone insurance purchase and usage.