As Apple’s anticipated HomePod smart speaker system goes on sale today in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, the Cupertino company has updated its HomePod support website with out-of-warranty service pricing for the speaker.
According to Apple’s website, if a customer’s HomePod is under warranty, is covered by AppleCare+, or protected by consumer law, there is no charge to fix or replace the speaker. If the issue isn’t covered by any of the aforementioned cases, customers will have to pay an out-of-warranty service fee of $279 USD in the US, £268.44 in the United Kingdom, and $399 AUD in Australia.
If a HomePod owner needs service on his or her speaker, an appointment can be made at any Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. If that isn’t possible for a customer, Apple can also send HomePod owners a box to ship their speakers to its repair center for an additional $19.95 USD, £13.44, and $29.95 AUD in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, respectively.
If one chooses to purchase AppleCare+ with his or her purchase of the smart speaker, it will run at $39 USD, extending the speaker’s coverage to two years from its original purchase date. AppleCare+ also adds up to two accidental damage incidents, each subject to another $39 USD service fee in the United States, £29 in the United Kingdom, and $55 AUD in Australia, plus the upfront cost of the plan.
AppleCare+ also allows customers an express replacement service in which Apple completely replaces the speaker in advance of the return of the non-functional unit. According to the support page, the non-functional unit must be returned within 10 days to avoid any additional charges.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Damn… so basically if it breaks out of warranty, just buy a new one. That’s pretty steep repair cost.
It is… I mean as far as hardware goes, I don’t think the Homepod is as vulnerable to damage as other products so it shouldn’t really be an issue. Also this is really no different from any other product’s cost of repair out of warranty. It’s pretty much the cost of the unit. Maybe a certain percentage of new device cost.