There's a new iPhone out. Maybe you've heard? You've probably heard.
It's called the iPhone 6S. There's a bigger version too, called the iPhone 6S Plus.
Both are quite pretty!
So pretty, in fact, that you may not want to put it in a case. Who wants to pay all that money for a pretty device that's hidden behind a case?
You do. No, seriously. You do!
That's my busted iPhone 6. It still works, more or less, but it has an ever-growing spiderweb of cracks rippling out from its lower left corner. Using it is a pretty awful experience. Awful enough, in fact, that I'm currently using a Samsung Galaxy S6 as my daily driver — a perfectly nice phone, but not the phone I intended to use daily. I'd still be using the iPhone 6 if it weren't so busted up, and it wouldn't be so busted up had I not dropped it on Fifth Avenue.
"But no one will ever see the pretty Rose Gold phone I got!" you argue. Agreed! That's the same logic I use. Why buy a gorgeous device only to hide it away?
"And besides, I bought AppleCare+! My phone is insured!" This is where you're wrong, friend. Prepare for frustration: AppleCare+ isn't insurance — it's a phone repair discount program.
It's not even an unlimited phone repair discount program. Here's Apple's official wording on it:
Every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary support. AppleCare+ for iPhone extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $79 for iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, or $99 for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, plus applicable tax.
Let's break that down: you pay $129 for AppleCare+ alongside your new phone (which lasts for two years from the purchase date) and then another $99 should your phone incur "accidental damage." Like, say, dropping your phone and the screen breaking.
So, for the privilege of only paying $99 to replace your broken screen, you have to pay $129 up front. And that only counts for two instances of "accidental damage," so you're only able to fix a broken phone two times — again, at a cost of $99 each time — after having paid $129 for AppleCare+.
For most people, AppleCare+ may not be the best deal. For others, especially those who require a lot of customer support for their device or know they're prone to cracking it, it could be worth the extra $129.
But for everyone else, just buy a case.
