Worth noting that in some jurisdictions (e.g. Australia), consumer protection law extends beyond manufacturer warranties by establishing consumer guarantees, e.g. a guarantee that products will be of acceptable quality, and that they will be reasonably fit for any disclosed or represented purpose.[0]

This often extends beyond the period of the express manufacturer warranty.

On a semi-related note, Apple has recently been fined AU$9m for "making false or misleading representations to customers with faulty iPhones and iPads about their rights under the Australian Consumer Law", by representing to customers "that they were no longer eligible for a remedy if their device had been repaired by a third party".[1]

[0]: https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees...

[1]: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/iphone-and-ipad-misrep...

Doesn't Apple often snob this laws? Have they changed their behaviour? If I remember correctly, in EU, up to just one or two years ago they were refusing to service products under warranty older than one year if you didn't have Apple Care even though the law mandates a 2 year warranty period.

>>even though the law mandates a 2 year warranty period.

The law mandates no such thing and this is an extremely common misunderstanding of how EU consumer production works.

EU consumer protection law gives you protection against manufacturing defects for up to 6 years after purchase(it's 2 years only on specific items - in general, it's 6 years).

The absolutely key word here is manufacturing defects - if you have a fault with your laptop, fridge, TV, whatever, within the first 6 months after buying it, then this law assumes the defect existed at the time of manufacturing and the manufacturer has to fix it. But, after the initial 6 months, the responsibility on proving that the defect is due to faulty manufacturing is on the customer.

So yes, you can absolutely bring in your broken laptop to apple after 2 years of buying it, without buying extra Apple Care, and ask them to fix it - but it's up to you to prove that it's broken because of a manufacturing issue. That's why Apple "snubs" at it - in vast majority of cases it's very hard for the consumer to prove that the laptop is broken because of an error in manufacturing, and not because the part has worn out.

Having said that - there are some countries in EU(for example Poland) which require that all electrical devices are covered by a full 2 year manufacturer warranty, and indeed - all Apple hardware sold in Poland comes with a 2 year warranty as standard. Which highlights another issue - EU laws are not as homogeneous as an outsider might think - for example, in UK if your product is replaced under warranty, the replacement is only covered for the duration of the original warranty. But in Poland, the law states that if an item is replaced under warranty, then the replacement has to be covered for a "fresh" duration, so a full replacement resets the time counter on the warranty.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/gua...

Are you sure Apple covers those two years? Over here it's the seller that adds the second year.

Same in Sweden. Warranty is 3 years by law, but the seller in responsible for whatever period that's not covered by the manufacturer.

This sometimes results in customers being ping-ponged between seller and manufacturer a few times before the seller gives in.

> This sometimes results in customers being ping-ponged between seller and manufacturer a few times before the seller gives in.

Why would the seller give in, if it can always just ping the buyer back to the manufacturer one more time?

Because small claims court judges tend to side with the consumer in these cases.

How I wish I lived in that world. Here in the US, my wife recently had a nightmare situation where the insurance company insisted that they didn't cover a certain cost because they didn't know what it was sure, the hospital insisted that they had never assessed the cost and so couldn't explain it to the insurance, and yet somehow everyone seemed to agree that the never-assessed cost nonetheless absolutely had to be paid.

Isn't Apple often the seller as well as the manufacturer? In any case, I've never had to interact with a manufacturer, it was always taken care of by the seller (within the first 2 years).

The UK has a nice catch all for such things in addition to the EU laws;

From the 'Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994'

~~~ For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a)fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,

(b)appearance and finish,

(c)freedom from minor defects,

(d)safety, and

(e)durability.

~~~

I don't think a reasonable person would regard a £2000 laptop being unusable after 2 years of regular careful use as being 'Fit for purpose'.

> The Consumer Rights Act 2015 became law on 1 October 2015, replacing three major pieces of consumer legislation - the Sale of Goods Act, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, and the Supply of Goods and Services Act. It was introduced to simplify, strengthen and modernise the law, giving you clearer shopping rights.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-...

Maybe they snub it sometimes but I was able to have a 2 year old iPhone replaced under this rule (the camera padding had drifted across close to the front lens).

I believe the rule here in Ireland is that defects that were present as a result of the initial engineering are covered for more years, but not wear and tear or anything that would fail due to use specifically.

They do. And they got fined AU$9M a week ago.

https://www.smh.com.au/technology/apple-us-fined-9-million-f...

FWIW AppleCare for this price of machine has been the same duration and roughly the same price since forever, even before MBPs.

What they have quietly changed is now you can only buy it in the first 60 days instead of the first year which was a big surprise to me buying a new MBP. It had been the first year for a very, very long time — since inception IIRC. Of course I learned of this change after I'd already had my machine for more than 60 days. :/

There are a few ways to get it slightly cheaper like F&F discount. You also used to be able to get it cheaper from a third party store like B&H but it seems they've cut back on this recently.

The link from SyneRyder’s comment indicates that you can still buy AppleCare anytime in the first year. The only thing subject to the 60-day limit is AppleCare+ (which includes accidental damage).

Good catch. Pasting here for others:

> As for the Mac, customers who have had their Macs for longer than 60 days but less than a year are not eligible for AppleCare+ but are still able to purchase a standard AppleCare Protection Plan, MacRumors has learned. Apple is only offering AppleCare+ for Mac on its website, so customers will need to call in to Apple Support to make the standard AppleCare purchase. Standard Mac AppleCare is priced at $149 to $349, depending on the machine.

Oh wow, I didn't know this either. Looks like the change happened in June 2017, so roughly in the last year:

https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/21/applecare-plus-mac-ipho...

Oh damn, I've waited too long now

Were you unable to find a boxed retail copy of the old version online?

Looks like there are a few but not many on eBay [1]. I wonder if one can still activate the legacy AppleCare (non +) on newer models purchased after they discontinued it.

[1]: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=applecare+pla...

Exactly, As I said before, they should rise the price a little and offer 2 years standard warranty on all products, iPhone and Mac. It is not like they are replacing those panels or parts for free under warranty, you still have to paid for it, just a little cheaper. And 2 year is, for EU, UK, and AUS part of the law anyway.

And like you said many Notebook now offer 2-3 years warranty as standard. Apple?

It is rather unfortunate we don't have anyone to challenge them in both PC and Smartphone space.

In Europe minimum mandatory warranty is 2 years.

Could you link to some explanatory source for that?

There you go: https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/sell-abroad/client-gua...