Apple has extended its warranties on Macs and iOS devices in Australia from 12 to 24 months, but the Cupertino company is keeping quiet about it, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The change has been made to comply with Australian consumer law, which states that statutory warranties should stand for a “reasonable” period of time, even after the manufacturer’s standard warranty has expired.
Until recently, Apple warranties in Australia only covered devices for 12 months — just like they do in most other markets — and customers had to pay for an extended AppleCare plan to extend them. But this model did not comply with Australian consumer law, and so Apple has been forced to change it.
Faulty iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macs will now be repaired by Australian AppleCare if they break down within two years. Apple announced the change to staff internally via email, and to resellers on its web portal, according to Australian Apple blog MacTalk. But it doesn’t seem to be making the news available to consumers.
According to one of the emails obtained, which was circulated around one Apple store, staff were told not to talk to customers about the new policy. Presumably this could convince some that an extended AppleCare warranty was no longer necessary.
Strangely, Australian consumer law doesn’t specify exactly how long a warranty should last — it simply says that it should cover a product for a “reasonable” period of time. And the more expensive the product, the longer the warranty is expected to last.
Until last Friday, Australian Apple customers were forced to pay to have devices repaired if they were more than 12 months old and not covered by an extended AppleCare plan.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
