Apple Watch Ultra first-party repair can cost over 60% of its original retail price
The Watch Ultra has launched exhibiting new and very noticeable bulges, ridges and grooves unlikely to appeal to the typical Series 8 buyer; however, Apple asserts that they make its new wearable an ideal companion for those drawn to rugged, outdoorsy pursuits on a particularly extreme scale. Therefore, one might presume it is appropriately terminally resistant to physical damage, especially considering the price of the new variant.
The Cupertino giant has nonetheless set up a first-party repair service for the inaugural Ultra, which might throw up some unpleasant surprises for a customer for whom its endurance-focused marketing has failed.
The OEM estimates that it costs US$79 to fix the new wearable - although that only applies if the customer has also bought an AppleCare+ plan (for US$99/US$4.99 a month extra) with their new Watch Ultra. If not, it could run up to US$499: ~62% of the titanium smartwatch's new iPhone-esque price.
Those figures are for the United States market; in China, where the Ultra has started at 6,299 yuan (~US$910), the same non-AppleCare+ quote reportedly goes up to 3,749 yuan (~US$541).
We were not able to verify that; however, we have found that a Watch Ultra repair bill can reach €619 (~US$625) in the European market (where the Ultra is priced at up to €999 (~US$1,009)).
Therefore, the aspiring Watch Ultra buyer might need to be a little more careful than they imagined with their super-premium new wearable.
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