\n<\/p>\n
Apple has announced Apple Upgrade<\/a>, a new program with the buy-now-pay-later company Klarna<\/a> that lets US customers lease certain models of the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac for a monthly fee. Apple Upgrade<\/a> replaces the iPhone Upgrade Program and the iPhone Payments installment plan. The 0% APR Apple Card Monthly Installments<\/a> payment option remains available.<\/p>\n Customers can choose from 12- or 24-month leases for an iPhone or Apple Watch, or a 24- or 36-month lease for a Mac or iPad. Prices vary from $11.99 per month for a basic Apple Watch Series 11 to over $325 per month for a loaded Mac Studio. Longer leases have lower monthly fees but higher total costs. If you trade in a device<\/a> when enrolling, that will lower your monthly costs, and if you use the Apple Card for the lease payments, you\u2019ll get 3% cash back.<\/p>\n Not all products are included, so you can\u2019t use Apple Upgrade to get an iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, Apple Watch SE 3, MacBook Neo, Mac mini, iPad (A16), or Studio Display. I\u2019m not surprised by the omission of the older iPhone 16 models, but why exclude the Apple Watch SE 3, MacBook Neo, Mac mini, base-level iPad, and Studio Display? My best guess is that Apple plans to refurbish and sell the devices returned from Apple Upgrade, but those products have lower resale values.<\/p>\n Nor is Apple Upgrade available for the Education, Government, or Veterans and Military Purchase Programs, Apple at Work for small businesses or enterprises, corporate Employee Purchase Programs, or the Apple Employee Purchase Plan.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re leasing an iPhone, you must choose from AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon, and you can\u2019t use a prepaid carrier plan (this is also true for the Apple Card Monthly Installments). That\u2019s too bad, since if paying less is the goal, you can save significantly with a prepaid plan or an MVNO carrier like US Mobile or Consumer Cellular, as discussed in TidBITS Talk<\/a>. That said, the iPhones leased through Apple Upgrade are unlocked, so you can switch among the eligible carriers.<\/p>\n Apple Upgrade works much like the now-defunct iPhone Upgrade Program, which also charged a monthly fee, but it\u2019s different under the hood. The iPhone Upgrade Program was essentially an interest-free loan, whereas Apple Upgrade is a true lease. With the iPhone Upgrade Program, you could easily upgrade to the latest iPhone model for free after 12 payments, and after 24 payments, you owned the device outright. If you wanted to stop paying at any time, you could pay off the remaining balance and keep the iPhone.<\/p>\n With Apple Upgrade, you\u2019re renting the device, and at the end of the lease, you must either return the device or purchase it with a one-time payment. You can also \u201cupgrade to the latest generation<\/a>,\u201d but that mostly means Apple contacts you when the original lease ends and helps you start a new one.<\/p>\n Apart from taxes and a fee if you return a damaged device, Apple says you won\u2019t pay more than the full price of the device<\/a>: \u201cthe purchase option fee is the list price minus any lease payments you\u2019ve made minus any remaining discounts or trade-in credit.\u201d If you want to stop paying, you can terminate your lease and return the device, but Klarna will charge you \u201csubstantial fees,\u201d presumably the purchase fee. If you do nothing at the end of the lease, it automatically converts to a month-to-month lease for up to 6 months, possibly with higher monthly payments. If you take no action at the end of the 6-month extension, Klarna will charge you the purchase fee.<\/p>\n Also, the iPhone Upgrade Program included AppleCare, whereas Apple Upgrade does not. It\u2019s available, of course, but it will significantly increase the monthly costs. We generally recommend AppleCare for iPhones, as well as iPads and MacBooks that are regularly used on the go. If you don\u2019t purchase AppleCare+ Theft and Loss for your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, and it is lost or stolen, you\u2019ll have to pay the early termination or purchase fee.<\/p>\n People currently enrolled in the iPhone Upgrade Program will have the option to lease a new device with Apple Upgrade, finance with Apple Card Monthly Installments, purchase the product outright, or choose carrier financing. Hopefully, Apple will make the transition clear.<\/p>\n Although the appeal of Apple Upgrade is obvious\u2014less cash needed up front for an Apple device\u2014I\u2019m unenthused about Apple Upgrade. The only way it improves on the iPhone Upgrade Program is by including other products. The simplicity, carrier flexibility, and end-of-term ownership of the iPhone Upgrade Program and outright purchases seem better than Apple Upgrade\u2019s voluminous fine print and administrative overhead.<\/p>\n Outright purchases are easy: order the new iPhone, activate it on your number when it arrives, and return your old iPhone in the packaging Apple provides within 14 days. It feels like there\u2019s more that could go wrong with terminating and restarting Apple Upgrade leases. What if you forget to unfreeze a credit report when an upgrade happens, or your credit card is compromised while you\u2019re traveling, causing a payment to fail?<\/p>\n There was initially another worry. 9to5Mac reported that code in the iOS 27 beta suggests that Apple could restrict leased devices<\/a> if customers fall behind on payments. However, Apple told The Verge<\/a> that, \u201cThere will be no restricted mode and\/or there will be no limitations put on device functionality due to missed payments or default with the Apple Upgrade program.\u201d It\u2019s unclear what the \u201cApp Managed Features\u201d system is for\u2014perhaps other markets?<\/a>\u2014or whether Apple has backed down from it amid negative press.<\/p>\n Again, the attraction of Apple Upgrade is the ability to pay a small monthly fee rather than a large upfront price. As long as you\u2019re aware of all the administrative details involving missed payments, early termination, returning devices, and more, it might be a good way to spread out the cost of an expensive Apple device.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Apple has announced Apple Upgrade, a new program with the buy-now-pay-later company Klarna that lets US customers lease certain models of the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac for a monthly fee. Apple Upgrade replaces the iPhone Upgrade Program and the iPhone Payments installment plan. The 0% APR Apple Card Monthly Installments payment option remains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11768],"tags":[1332,24729,2013,13239,46550,8818],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-358656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple-2","tag-apple","tag-extends","tag-iphone","tag-program","tag-replaces","tag-upgrade"],"yoast_head":"\nBasic Details<\/h2>\n
iPhone Upgrade Program Comparison<\/h2>\n
Should You Lease Through Apple Upgrade?<\/h2>\n