Apple’s MacBook Neo has some of the cheapest AppleCare+ fees — but is the add-on worth it? Here’s our verdict

• The MacBook Neo can be covered by the AppleCare+ scheme
• Its repair prices are much lower than for any other Mac
• Only the Mac mini’s monthly AppleCare+ membership fees are lower

Apple’s MacBook Neo "the best budget laptop you can buy", according to our MacBook Neo review. And with its starting price of just $599 / £599 / AU$899, you definitely don't want to be splashing out on expensive repairs. Fortunately, Apple is giving you an option to keep potential costs down using its AppleCare+ insurance scheme, which has some of the lowest repair fees for any Mac.

Head over to the AppleCare+ website and you’ll see prices for various different repair options for the MacBook Neo (see table below). Battery servicing is free, while both screen damage and external enclosure damage cost $49 / £39 / AU$79 to put right. Other accidental damage is more expensive at $149 / £109 / AU$249.

Those fees are much lower than what you’d pay Apple if you didn’t have AppleCare+ coverage. Repairing or replacing the MacBook Neo’s battery outside of AppleCare+ costs $149 /£149 / AU$259 (as opposed to nothing under AppleCare+). Apple says it’ll need to inspect your laptop for other damage before giving you a “personalized estimate,” but you can be rest assured that any work will cost more than the service fees under AppleCare+.

Compared to other current MacBooks, the MacBook Neo’s AppleCare+ prices are more affordable. Fixing screen damage and external enclosure damage in the M5 MacBook Air and the M5 Pro/M5 Max MacBook Pro will cost you $99 /£79 / AU$149.

For other accidental damage, you’re looking at $299 / £229 / AU$429 for both devices. In other words, repairing the MacBook Neo will cost half as much as fixing the same issue in both the latest MacBook Air and the newest MacBook Pro.

Is AppleCare+ worth it for the MacBook Neo?

The MacBook Neo’s repair costs are lower than those of any other Mac — desktop or laptop. The iMac, Mac Studio and Mac Pro all have the same prices as the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Even the Mac mini, Apple’s most affordable desktop, costs the same.

The one area where the MacBook Neo might set you back a little more is the cost of the AppleCare+ subscription itself. For the MacBook Neo, you’ll be paying $4.99 a month (there's no monthly option for the UK or Australia) or $49.99 / £49.99 a year (Australia doesn't have any AppleCare+ prices for the MacBook Neo yet).

Alternatively, you can pay a one-off fee of $139 in the US that gets you three years of coverage. That’s cheaper than AppleCare+ coverage for all other Macs except the Mac mini, which costs $3.49 a month (again, no monthly option yet for the UK or Australia) or $34.99 / £34.99 / AU$59.99 a year.

Of course, there’s still the question of whether AppleCare+ is actually worth it for a laptop that only costs $599 / £599 / AU$899. After all, five years of AppleCare+ coverage for the MacBook Neo would cost you $250 / £250 when paid annually. Add that to the cost of the laptop and you’re looking at paying $850 / £850 in total. In our book, that means most people are unlikely to need it.

Still, if you’re considering buying the MacBook Neo in the first place, you might not be able to afford to just buy a new one if it breaks or something goes wrong. That would make avoiding AppleCare+ (or an alternative third-party insurance policy) risky and potentially very pricey.

Ultimately, you have to decide whether AppleCare+ is right for you based on your own circumstances. But it’s reassuring to know that if you do want to cover a MacBook Neo, it’s offered at a much more attainable price than almost any other Mac.

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