Earlier this week, Apple made its AirPod line available for purchase after lengthy delays which saw the the product launch slip by almost two months.
Long before orders were placed and products shipped, customers and technology pundits were raising concerns about the wireless earbuds and how they have the potential to be easily lost. As well as pointing out the inconvenience of losing a single earbud, questions were also raised about how much Apple would charge for replacements, or whether Apple would even make single replacements available.
Yesterday, however, Apple clarified the cost of replacing a single ear bud on it's service pricing page, differentiating between out-of-warranty servicing, battery servicing and replacement pricing for lost devices. If you're within the 1 year limited warranty period, as with other Apple devices there is no charge for repair or replacement of faulty goods.
However, the following charges apply for any other servicing/replacement;
- Out-of-warranty/accidental damage;
$69 per AirPod / $69 per Charging case - Lost devices;
$69 per AirPod / $69 per Charging case - Battery servicing;
$49 per AirPod / $49 per Charging case
(Free if the battery is defective within warranty/normal use)
What is unclear at this stage is how single replacements will work; will customers will be able to walk into an Apple store to buy a single AirPod, or will they need to liaise with Apple support? That said, losing a single AirPod should be more difficult than it sounds - excuse the pun - because they stop playing audio automatically when one is removed from the ear canal.
So now we know, somewhat unsurprisingly, it will be possible to replace a single AirPod. But to avoid losing them in the first place, the recommendation is to keep them in the case when they're not in use; they'll stay charged that way, too.
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