Apple jacks up Mac, iPhone, iPad battery replacement fees

Prices blowing up makes a change from, well, you know

If your phone, iPad, or MacBook is in need of a new battery, you might want to make your way to the Apple Store before the end of February. Apple plans to increase the cost of battery replacements for most out-of-warranty devices by $20-$50. 

"The current out-of-warranty battery service fee will apply until the end of February 2023. Effective March 1, 2023, the out-of-warranty battery service fee will be increased by $20 for all iPhone models prior to iPhone 14," the fine print buried near the bottom of Apple's service and repair page notes.

Similar notices have been added to Apple's iPad and MacBook service pages, though Cupertino hasn't noted any price increases for the Apple Watch.

The price hike brings the cost of a battery replacement for most last-gen iPhones and iPads to $89 and $119 respectively. Meanwhile, a new MacBook Air or Pro battery will run you $159 or $249 respectively.

The price increases aren't limited to the US. According to Apple's UK support pages, battery service fees will increase £20 for iPhones, £30 for iPads, and £30-46 for MacBooks.

The Register reached out to Apple for comment on the changes to its service fees; we'll let you know if we hear anything back.

Apple's decision to increase battery service charges isn't all that surprising. Cupertino began increasing battery service fees for most of its portfolio last year. Beginning with the iPhone 14, a new battery would run you $99, up from the current price of $69. Apple applied a similar price hike for its M2 generation of iPads boosting the cost of a battery replacement from $99 to $119 for the new 10-inch base model, $149 for the 11-inch iPad Pro, and $179 for the larger 12.9-inch slate.

It should be noted that the price hikes don't apply to devices still covered under the company's standard AppleCare limited warranty, or those that have subscribed to AppleCare+ — the company's extended warranty and accident-protection program.

Apple's standard warranty covers service for defective batteries. This includes any device that fails to retain 80 percent of its original capacity at or before 500 charge cycles for iPhones or 1,000 charge cycles for iPads and MacBooks. 

You can check the health of your iPhone or iPad's battery health by navigating to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. Mac users, meanwhile, can find their battery health by opening the System Information app and selecting "Power" from the sidebar. ®