Ive been doing the 'buy 2' high quality products instead of the 'buy 1 apple product'.

Now, I dont actually buy 2 products, but I simply replace with the latest high end product when I want/need to. I am unsure whats cheaper and better quality.

Im curious in studying this for comparison(I run a consumer website), what are your quality metrics for service and warrenty?

So far I have:

>Time to fix/repair(downtime)

>Cost/deductible/copay

>Annoyance(losing contacts/photos/etc...)

Can you think of anything else?

Yeah that's pretty much it, for me at least. I'd consider myself very technically inclined (replaced screens on my iPhone 5's, build dozens of PCs...), but as I've learned from experience I'd rather just pay slightly more and expect it to work for my personal stuff.

I guess one can view it as buying the cheapest new car with a long warranty versus a reliable as-is used car just so I never have to worry about it not working.

I agree; it's hard to beat retail. The majority of customers don't have time to wait to mail stuff out or deal with trying to repair things on their own. They have $$$ and are willing to pay to just have their devices fixed. Making this as low friction as possible should be a priority, otherwise that's money left on the table.