Apple has just changed the terms of its AppleCare Protection Plan for the the MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro to cover batteries retaining under 80% of their original capacity. A MacBook user who has taken out a plan can now, during the extended warranty period and at no charge, have Apple replace the computer’s non-removal battery should it be faltering in this way.
Under the previous terms, only defective batteries would be replaced by the Cupertino company; however, on Apple’s website, a support page – which, according to MacRumors, was updated just yesterday – indicates the policy change. The changed terms read: “If you purchased an AppleCare Protection Plan for your Mac notebook with a non-removable battery, Apple will replace the notebook battery at no charge if it retains less than 80 percent of its original capacity.”
MacBooks with non-removable batteries include all 13-inch MacBooks released in late 2009 or later, all MacBook Airs, all 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros released in mid-2009 or later, and all Retina display MacBook Pros. Taking out an AppleCare Protection Plan, which costs between $249 and $349, for one of these MacBooks extends its warranty coverage from just one to three years after the date that the computer was originally bought.