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AirPods Max battery replacement typo causes alarm; eBay scalpers set up shop

A typo on Apple’s UK website caused alarm when it appeared to show an AirPods Max battery replacement would cost £309 ($410) in the country, while it was $79 in the US.

Fortunately, this was soon revealed as a typo, and the actual UK price is £75 ($99). Allowing for the fact that UK prices include 20% sales tax while US ones are before tax, this makes the comparable UK cost £62.50 ($83), or marginally more than the US price …

The Register originally reported the odd-looking price.

If you’ve got any money left over from your purchase of AirPods Max, you might want to save it. Battery replacements won’t come cheap, with Apple charging £309 in the UK – or roughly 56 per cent of the original headphones.

This is more than three times the cost of obtaining a battery service in the US, where an out-of-warranty repair will set you back $79. It’s even more expensive than in Australia, where consumers typically pay more for kit than Brits or Americans. A replacement battery service down under will set you back A$119, or £66 at the current exchange rate […]

It’s not clear why Apple is charging UK punters disproportionately more than those elsewhere. We’ve asked Apple, and will update this post if we hear back.

TNW noted that it was merely a typo, which has since been corrected.

If users won’t be able to replace their own AirPods Max battery, then they have to go to Apple. Which is exactly what the company wants. A quick check on its website showed that this could be done without AppleCare+ in the US for $79 […]

This didn’t appear to be the case in the UK though. Yesterday, the same part of Apple’s UK website stated that replacing the AirPods Max battery would cost £309 […] Thankfully though, it appears it was simply a typo. Apple updated its UK website over the night, and it now shows the AirPods Max battery replacement costing £75.

AirPods Max battery replacement is free with AppleCare, which costs $59 in the US.

Unsurprisingly, given 12-14 week shipping times now, eBay scalpers are out in force, with a range of AirPods Max prices as high as $1,500.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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