Back in late December, Apple was fined $1.2 million by Italian regulators over allegations that the company promoted its AppleCare extended warranty program to customers without adequately disclosing that many of the program's benefits were already included in the standard two-year warranty required by Italian law.

italian apple store applecare notice
As noted by @setteBIT, Apple has now added to its Italian online store a prominent link sharing the court decision (PDF). The document outlines the requirement that Apple modify the marketing terms for its AppleCare services in Italy within 90 days from the December 21 decision to properly reflect what is covered under standard two-year warranties and to widely publicize that information to consumers.

It is unclear whether Apple will continue to appeal the fine, with today's posting of the decision perhaps designed to meet the court's requirements while the case remains ongoing.

Top Rated Comments

Hellhammer Avatar
179 months ago
Great to see that they follow the law. In any case I guess it is much easier to get stuff repaired if you have AppleCare. At least I buy it most of the times for my MacBooks.

No offense but it's stupid to pay if laws are giving you the same rights. I know that some countries, especially the US, don't have such laws but in countries that have, you should just take advantage of the legal system. Otherwise we wouldn't have lawsuits like this and companies would keep ripping off people.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carlanga Avatar
179 months ago
How can you call a hyperlink of font size 10 in black prominent... Sure is in the middle on top of pictures of the items, but it should be at least in red and in bigger letters or with a border like MR created for the pic :roll eyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnasher729 Avatar
179 months ago
No offense but it's stupid to pay if laws are giving you the same rights. I know that some countries, especially the US, don't have such laws but in countries that have, you should just take advantage of the legal system. Otherwise we wouldn't have lawsuits like this and companies would keep ripping off people.

The laws, even in Italy, don't give you _the same_ rights. They just give you slightly better rights then you might think.

Apple warranty: 1 year unless Apple shows that the problem is your fault.
AppleCare: 3 years unless Apple shows that the problem is your fault.

The Law: 6 months unless Apple shows that the problem is your fault.
A reasonable time / 2 years in Italy if you show that the problem isn't your fault.

So the law gives you more than Apple's warranty, but less than AppleCare. The point is that Apple should have told customers that they have more rights than Apple's warranty, but that doesn't make AppleCare worthless.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Itzamna Avatar
179 months ago
Once again:

Apple warranty: 1 year unless Apple shows that the problem is your fault.
AppleCare: 3 years unless Apple shows that the problem is your fault.

The Law: 6 months unless Apple shows that the problem is your fault.
A reasonable time / 2 years in Portugal if you show that the problem isn't your fault.

Can you see the tiny tiny little detail "if you show that the problem isn't your fault"? I'll just tell you that you would lose any lawsuit _unless the seller refused to fix problems after you proved it wasn't your fault_.
I'm glad that you know so much about Portuguese law... ;)

Pitty that you are a bit on the wrong side... :P


1st) The article 5 of the Warranty Decree is self explanatory... There is no six months period in Portugal... We have only one single window of 2 years (or 5 depending on the product).

2nd) During those 2 years, the burden of proof that it was (or was not) damage induced by the customer belongs to the manufacter not the customer. I don't have to prove anything. (art. 6 of the Warranty Decree)

3rd) The article 12 in the costumer law says that even if its not the manufacter fault, i can still try to activate the warranty aslong it complies within the warranty decree.

4th) On a side note, we also have a 2 month period where we can and we should complain about manufacturing defects and if any defect is from manufacturing and its a severe defect, we can replace the product for a new one during that period.



Anyway here is the costumer law (in Portuguese):

http://www.acra.pt/_pdf/LEI_DO_CONSUMIDOR.pdf


the warranty decree (again in Portuguese):

http://dre.pt/pdf1sdip/2003/04/083A00/22802283.PDF


And here is another decree about financial and comercial fairplay:

http://dre.pt/pdf1sdip/2007/03/06000/17361739.PDF
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CmdrLaForge Avatar
179 months ago
No offense but it's stupid to pay if laws are giving you the same rights. I know that some countries, especially the US, don't have such laws but in countries that have, you should just take advantage of the legal system. Otherwise we wouldn't have lawsuits like this and companies would keep ripping off people.
I pay because the law is absolutely not giving you the same rights. First, there is a difference between the guarantee from the manufacturer and the warranty from the law. Usually the manufacturer provides one year of guarantee, after that there is an additional 1 year (so two years in total) in which the manufacturer has to repair in case the problem was already there when the product was shipped ( no wear out of connectors etc...) and it is up to the customer to prove that !!! In Germany there are two different terms (Garantie and Gewahrleistung). The law gives you two years of Gewahrleistung not Garantie. I don't know the correct corresponding English terms, here is more info. (http://www.anwalt-seiten.de/artikel/sec1/221.html)

With AppleCare you get 3 years trouble free service and you can much more easily sell the unit on eBay because people know if they receive a unit with any problem they just call Apple and they will fix it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hellhammer Avatar
179 months ago
Prices look really high, can anyone else in a eurozone country confirm that those prices are much higher than normal? 120 Euro for ATV is really expensive and it looks like Apple has just rolled that extra year of warranty into the prices.

Euro prices have VAT included in them, while the US prices are tax-free (sales tax will be added depending on the state).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Leaks Reveal What Apple Products Are Coming Next

Friday October 3, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
On this episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest leaks about the next-generation iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Studio Display, and Vision Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, an apparent unboxing video of an updated iPad Pro with the M5 chip was shared online. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
ipad pro 2024

Next iPad Pro to Have Two Key Features, But One Rumor Still Uncertain

Sunday October 5, 2025 7:00 am PDT by
The next iPad Pro models are rumored to feature two key upgrades, including Apple's M5 chip, and an increased minimum of 12GB of RAM. Last week, apparent unboxing videos for the next-generation 13-inch iPad Pro were uploaded to YouTube by Russian channels Wylsacom and Romancev768. The same YouTube channels leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip before it was announced by Apple...