The story of my Magic Keyboard with a warped bottom and AppleCare+.
The Magic Keyboard for my iPad Pro, which I use every single day. I first noticed something was wrong during a recent family trip. I always bring my iPad along when I travel, but when I picked it up, something felt off. Looking at the bottom of the Magic Keyboard, I saw that the rubber had peeled and the surface had warped into a wavy, uneven shape.
日々使いまくっている iPad Pro の Magic Keyboard。その異変に気付いたのは先日行った家族旅行の時。旅行には iPad も持っていくんだけど、手に持つと何か変。そして Magic Keyboard の底面をみるとラバーがはげて波を打つようにベコベコになっていた。
I have AppleCare+ for both my iPhone and iPad. Since iPhones and iPads are basically devices you carry around, the risk of damage is clearly higher compared to a Mac. So, I decided to contact Apple Support about this issue.
By the way, the photo below is the one I actually sent to Apple Support. In the end, it was officially considered a repair, but in practice they replaced the whole unit.
iPhone と iPad は AppleCare+ に加入している。iPhone とか iPad って基本的に持ち歩くものだから、破損するリスクが Mac に比べて明らかに高いから。ということでこの現象、Apple のサポートに問い合わせてみることにした。
ちなみに下の写真は実際に Apple のサポートに送った写真なんだけど、結果的には名目は修理、実際には本体交換になった。
I knew that with AppleCare+ for the iPhone, there's an "Express Replacement Service" where Apple sends you a replacement device first, and then you send your broken one back to Apple. By the way, using the express replacement service for iPhone does come with an additional fee.
This Magic Keyboard case was pretty much like the iPhone's Express Replacement Service. The difference was that there was no extra fee involved. Strictly speaking, it's not completely free since I'm on AppleCare+, but it was basically a free replacement. After more than a year of use since its release, with some signs of wear and tear starting to show, my Magic Keyboard was replaced with a brand-new one.
Another thing that really helped was that I never ended up without a Magic Keyboard for my iPad, which I use every day. It would've been pretty inconvenient if I had to go without it during the repair wait time.
iPhone で AppleCare+ に入っていると、故障とかの時に代替品の本体が送られてきて、壊れたものを Apple に送るっていうエクスプレス交換サービスがあるのは知っていた。ちなみに iPhone のエクスプレス交換サービスは利用するのにも別途若干の料金がかかる。
今回の Magic Keyboard の件も iPhone のエクスプレス交換サービスみたいな感じだった。ただし特別な料金は発生しなかった。まあ AppleCare+ に入っているんだから厳密に言えば無償ではないんだけど、ほぼ無償の交換。発売から1年数ヶ月使ってきて、少しくたびれたところも出てきていた Magic Keyboard が新品になった。
あともうひとつめちゃくちゃ助かったのは、毎日使っている iPad の Magic Keyboard が修理に送られて手元に何もない状態になることがなかったこと。修理待ちで使えない期間があるとちょっと不便だから。
To be honest, when you just look at the price, AppleCare+ isn't exactly cheap. But the pricing feels about what you'd expect from a term insurance plan. It's not outrageously expensive. Especially these days, iPhones and iPads have all gotten to the point where their prices aren't something you can just replace on a whim anymore. If I can get it repaired at a low cost, I'd rather just go with the repair.
These days, since Apple devices are basically meant to be used for at least three to four years, I'd recommend getting AppleCare+. It lets you get repairs for accidental damage at a relatively low cost.
AppleCare+ は額面だけ見ると正直そんなに安くない。だけど掛け捨ての保険ってこんなもんかなーってくらいの価格設定。べらぼうに高いわけではない。特に昨今は iPhone も iPad もどれもこれも、気軽に買い替えられる価格設定じゃなくなってきた。安く修理できるなら修理で乗り切りたい。
昨今の Apple デバイスは最低でも3〜4年くらいは使うことを前提に、過失が原因の修理も比較的低料金で受けられる AppleCare+ に入っておくってのがオススメっす。
