31–40 of 411 posts
Replaced by a lease program - https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade Pay $32/mo (so $770 total) to use an iPhone for two years and then give it back to Apple. This is truly the most dystopian timeline.
The math for the new program is kinda perplexing, my guess is that they are hoping that most people just will send in the device and upgrade. If I am reading the FAQ here properly: https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade . > If you decide to buy the device, the purchase option fee is the list price minus any lease payments you’ve made minus any remaining discounts or trade-in credit. (excluding tax and any damage fe…
They're switching to a lease model. Almost certainly because of the cost of components, but also in their interests to continue the "you'll own nothing" trend. They're even using Klarna as the leasing provider.
I don't know about you, but I like to own things that appreciate. Why would I care about leasing something that just loses value as time passes? This is not a bad way to get your phone, IMO.
Especially if you're someone who upgrades every year. 12 month option on a 17PM works out to ~$599 for the year vs. $1199 each year. $599 is roughly what you'd pay for each years new model assuming you trade in your previous gen each time, so at worst it's even with what an annual upgrader was paying already, at best you might make out a little better (assuming you are just doing trade-ins and not private sale).
There's no interest or fees, and you get to buy it out at the end if you want to own it, and the lease price is the same as the retail price, I see no downside.
Seems like a good place to also mourn the canonical best iPhone financing method - the blissfully simple Apple Card payment plan. They got rid of it[1] (except if you're engaging in the postpaid carrier contract foolishness) in 2023, which coincidentally was the last time I felt the need to get a new iPhone. I know a lot of people use postpaid, but I can't understand why. I'd challenge anyone to justify that decision…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> This is truly the most dystopian timeline. Why? Leasing has always been an option that some people and businesses prefer, depending on the circumstances. It’s commonly done with cars. In business situations leasing can be very common because it works well with your cash flow and doesn’t require taking more debt on your books. You can buy out the item at the end of the lease term. Some people like this optionality b…
The fact that we need to use the financing models of cars for basic consumer electronics is the dystopian part.
https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/21/ios-27-code-suggests-apple-co...
It will be curious to see if the first Klarna defaults will start triggering a future Restricted Mode on the phone and the parts get blacklisted from re-use.
I assume certain apps will get an entitlement from Apple to enable/disable this on the device.
edit: confirmed they aren't... yet.
https://www.theverge.com/tech/972063/apple-upgrade-program-n...
> To make way for Apple Upgrade — a new experience that offers more products and terms that work for you — we’re saying goodbye to the iPhone Upgrade Program. https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade It looks like this leasing program is just moving into a more generic/Apple-wide offering... not sure if the fine print changes. [edit: from the comments, it sounds like the difference is it was previously 0% interest fi…