Apple is often derided for its insistence on overcharging its customers for things competitors may make available for free. Well, starting this month, there is at least one sundry service for which Apple will no longer be taking flak: charging its users $99 for help transferring files from an old Mac to a newly purchased or repaired one.
As confirmed by the company to TidBITS, starting April 2, the company has updated its policies on data migration for new machines. You can now buy a new MacBook at an Apple Store and ask one of the company"s employees to help you transfer your data at no additional cost. The same will also be true of repaired machines.
Of course, if you"re feeling adventurous, you can also transfer the files between two machines yourself. The Migration Assistant that comes built into macOS will allow you to easily transfer files between two of the company"s PCs using just Wi-Fi when using macOS Sierra or later. If you"re on El Capitan or an earlier OS version, you will need a shared Wi-Fi network or an Ethernet cable to do the same. The company even has instructions on how to transfer your files from a Windows machine.
Source: TidBITS