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iPad Pro, Apple Care and Battery Life
Old 03-10-2018, 06:07 AM   #1
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iPad Pro, Apple Care and Battery Life

The IPad Pro I bought almost 2 years ago cost me over a little over a $1,100 all in. That included the machine, screen protector, Apple Care, and the lovely BRYDGE keyboard that I am typing on at this very moment. This machine coupled with my little color FIRE reader covers pretty much all my computing and reading needs. [The reader was about $100 and is light and perfect size for those Robert Cras dime store detective novels I recently discovered and am devouring.]

All is not perfect in Mudville - my iPad battery has been discharging way too quickly. I decided to see the “Genius” people at my local apple store. We signed in, provided a phone number and were told we would receive a text in about 45 minutes informing us we would be served shortly. I don’t know if you’ve been in an apple store but it is all too trendy. I call it iPad minimalism, wood benches everywhere with displays of cases and all sorts of optional equipment on the exterior walls. The ponytailed, ear ringed, odd colored hair sales people are of a different generation. There process is very efficient and fair. About 30 minutes later my phone beeped with the expected text and we found our way to the soon to be served table. I young guy with an ear ring hole introduced himself and asked “so what’s going on?”. Me: “Battery” he takes my IPad Pro and places it near his mini asks me to sign in and proceeds to run a diagnostic on my machine. Results: My battery was nearly toast. [I learned that going to work and plugging it in while I stream Frank Sinatra on Pandora wasn’t good for the battery. Better to let it run down and then charge it.] He then said you have 24 days left on your Apple Care. He offers me “$49 for a completely new machine.” I say “done”.

He does some form filling on his mini and bam a guy swings by and hands him a brand new boxed IPad Pro. He takes my well used, sligthly dented, crack in the screen protector machine and new box, erases everything on the old machine and hands me my new best buddy. Apple care! what a sweet deal.
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Old 03-10-2018, 06:48 AM   #2
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Wow, that is useful info. I never knew that - thanks for sharing.

How much did your "Apple Care" plan cost to purchase?

I enjoy the funky hair colors on young people. Some old ladies also sport unusual hair colors - apricot pink seems to be a favorite.

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[I learned that going to work and plugging it in while I stream Frank Sinatra on Pandora wasn’t good for the battery. Better to let it run down and then charge it.]
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Old 03-10-2018, 07:32 AM   #3
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Do you like the atmosphere and service at Best Buy or Target better?

I like the atmosphere in Apple stores a lot, including the “trendy” folks who work there, though they are usually crowded. And I’ve been happy with Apple’s customer service, no complaints here. I never get extended warranties on anything, but it sounds like you certainly got your $99 worth.

BTW, I’m fine with BB too, just not as upscale as Apple by a long shot. And most (not all) of the folks I’ve run into at BB seem to know the merch very well too.
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iPad Pro, Apple Care and Battery Life
Old 03-10-2018, 08:14 AM   #4
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iPad Pro, Apple Care and Battery Life

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amethyst View Post
How much did your "Apple Care" plan cost to purchase?
As I recall around $100 for the iPad Pro.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack View Post
Do you like the atmosphere and service at Best Buy or Target better?
I found Apple to be efficient, friendly and knowledgeable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Midpack View Post
I never get extended warranties on anything, but it sounds like you certainly got your $99 worth.

I generally don’t either but the iPad was pretty new at the time and it appeared to be good coverage. I didn’t want to drop any more money into another machine but I would because i live on this thing.
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Old 03-10-2018, 08:18 AM   #5
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I always buy AppleCare for my watch, and generally for the MacBook because it also includes three years of technical support. But so far I've avoided AppleCare on phones and iPads because I have yet to need service on any of them. But if I was more accident prone I would probably buy it.

An Ipad Pro battery should last more than two years regardless of how you were using it. It sounds like you had a defective unit, so it's a good thing you had AppleCare on it.
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Old 03-10-2018, 08:51 AM   #6
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Have 2 ipads at the moment. Waiting for the next product release to retire the first one and move to a smaller screen. I use mine primarily for travel. DW uses hers exclusively.

Great product. I though it was expensive when we bought the first one five or so years ago. No so any more. We have had an amazing amount of utility from them.

The only thing we do not buy from Apple are the covers. We can get as good a product for less than half the price of the Apple offering.

Always deal with the Apple store. We visit during off hours when the store is not as busy as usual.
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Old 03-10-2018, 09:23 AM   #7
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Great product. I though it was expensive when we bought the first one five or so years ago. No so any more. We have had an amazing amount of utility from them.
+1. I was certain in 2011 that the iPad was an expensive, frivolous toy. I’ll admit it, I couldn’t have been more wrong. My former coworkers gave me a Gen2 iPad as a retirement gift, and I use it every day. I have an iPad Air 2 now (effectively Gen 6).

My Win desktop and laptop have been pushed to the background, only use them for heavy duty tasks or backup/storage now. I’ve depended heavily on a series of home desktop PC’s since 1980, but I doubt I’ll replace the one I have now...
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Old 03-10-2018, 09:33 AM   #8
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It was especially difficult for me. I was in the industry working for the largest supplier of desktops complete with retiree discounts.

I was used to 'flexible' pricing. Apple prices seemed high and no one was willing to discount. The only edge we had was a small edu discount from my son.

Now waiting for the new product. Supposed to be better, faster, cheaper. Gurus on the web predict a June release. I am in no hurry so will wait.
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Old 03-10-2018, 12:24 PM   #9
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I don't doubt that RiP's iPad battery was nearly toast if he kept it plugged in while streaming. Keeping a battery at 100% charge puts a terrible strain on a lithium battery. I have the same 1st generation iPad Pro (12.9") and it still has a long service life ahead of it.

The whole time I've had it, I've tried to keep it charged at between 40% and 80%. That isn't all that practical with a phone but with a tablet that isn't used and carried everywhere, it's pretty doable most of the time.

Here's an article on why keeping the battery at 40-80% is better:

https://www.wirelessdesignmag.com/bl...smartphone-now
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Old 03-10-2018, 01:47 PM   #10
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I bought my first iPad (the iPad 2 or 3, don't recall) several years ago without AppleCare. Exactly 31 days after purchase I dropped it on the tile floor of my hotel while on a business trip to the Middle East and shattered the screen. This is the only time I've regretted not buying an extended warranty/insurance policy on an electronic gadget. Apple replaced it at cost, and it was sure an eye-opener to see how much less that was than what I paid for it.
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Old 03-10-2018, 03:39 PM   #11
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The first time Steve Jobs held up that iPad I new it was the product I had been waiting for, for years! I didn’t have a smartphone at the time as wasn’t that interested, but the surfing data machine was another animal entirely. I just had to wait a wee bit longer for the cellphone data version to come out, and then I was set. Didn’t take long for me to go all ebooks.

Since that first one, which I was able to trade in for a nice Retina display version a few years later, I have gone to the mini size, and been as happy as a clam.

I did also eventually got an iPhone as well - just a couple of years ago. The Apple Watch and a few trips to Europe got me hooked on a smartphone. Borrowed DHs old one at first.
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Old 03-10-2018, 03:40 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaxyBoy View Post
I bought my first iPad (the iPad 2 or 3, don't recall) several years ago without AppleCare. Exactly 31 days after purchase I dropped it on the tile floor of my hotel while on a business trip to the Middle East and shattered the screen. This is the only time I've regretted not buying an extended warranty/insurance policy on an electronic gadget. Apple replaced it at cost, and it was sure an eye-opener to see how much less that was than what I paid for it.
Wow that was very generous of them.
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Old 03-18-2018, 09:27 AM   #13
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DW bought an iPad with the new retina display. At the time we were HP PC users. Then she swapped her Motorola Startac with an Iphone 4S. Then she upgraded to a 5. Now she has a new ipad and an 8 Plus. I have the 4S and old iPad. Still use a Win7 HP laptop for spreadsheets.

But we consider ourselves to be an Apple family and especially the kids and GCs.
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Old 03-18-2018, 10:02 PM   #14
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A couple of MacBook Air issues (bad logic boards) proved the value of AppleCare very quickly. Also, outside of the warranty, the next best thing is the $250 mail-in repair. That one cost covers all repair options.

We ended up moving away from Apple products once we started living in Mexico, but now that Apple stores are starting to pop up, I feel a bit safer. Currently using two iPhones and one iPad (5) - Not sure if/when I'll jump back into a Mac Mini...
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Old 03-19-2018, 09:05 AM   #15
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I've been an Apple fanboi for a long time, but there's one event that won me over for life. Back during the Massachusetts tax holiday of 2011, I bought a MacBook Air. It was great, with just one minor annoyance: the spacebar had a slight squeak on the righthand side. I brought it in to the Genius Bar, expecting them to squirt in a little high-tech lube. Instead, the Apple employee said, "It's supposed to be perfect. I'll get you another." I protested that it was only a little squeak, hardly even audible. "It's supposed to be perfect," he repeated, and replaced it.

I am at this moment reformatting that machine to pass along to a relative. It's still in great shape, runs the latest version of MacOS, and will probably keep running for years.
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Old 03-19-2018, 09:36 AM   #16
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Over the years I have purchased 2 iMacs, 6 iPhones, 6 iPads, 2 Apple TVs for myself and family. I have never gotten AppleCare. There are 2 reasons.

First, the few times I’ve had an issue due product defect, Apple store "Genius" were very reasonable in offering fix or replacement at an acceptable cost.

Second, when I messed up, dropped phone cracked screen, broke off cable end in the charge slot, etc. repairs at independent local shops have excellent. Overall, much cheaper than having AppleCare over the years.

PS - A word on the Genius.

Always be nice not matter how aggravated your are. Apple gives these people wide latitude on remedies they can offer. I once dropped an iPhone in water which is obvious from its moisture detector. I straight up admitted it right away and even though the policy dictated Apple had no liability, I was given a free replacement by a Genius.
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