Apple Upgrade: A Leasing Plan That Looks Affordable but Isn’t
Apple Upgrade is a device leasing program that lets customers rent iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches through monthly payments with Klarna instead of owning the hardware outright, keeping them constantly on the hook for fees while Apple maintains control over the devices. In this new subscription-style offer, you lease an iPhone or Apple Watch for 24 months, or a Mac or iPad for 36 months. Starting July 28, those iPhone monthly payments flow to Klarna, not Apple, and the arrangement works much like a car lease: during the term you can pay off the device to keep it, trade up to a newer model, or hand it back at the end. On the surface, it sounds flexible and modern. In reality, it is a classic buy-now-pay-later trap grafted onto your most essential gadgets.
From Walled Garden to Debt Garden: Klarna vs Traditional Financing
The worrying part is not that Apple offers financing; it’s that it chose Klarna, a buy-now-pay-later specialist that thrives on impulse and financial stress. According to Forbes, BNPL services like Klarna mainly appeal to people with low financial stability and tend to charge higher fees than credit cards, making their short-term convenience poor value over time. That is a very different proposition from traditional carrier financing or a 0-percent installment loan, where you end up owning the phone as an asset. Here, Apple keeps ownership while Klarna manages the risk and collects the fees. Apple’s insular ecosystem once was a mark of a premium brand; outsourcing its upgrade plan to a BNPL player cheapens that image and turns loyalty into a revenue stream rather than a relationship.
The Hidden Cost of Never Owning Your Phone
Apple is advertising low entry points, with iPhone monthly payments starting at USD 18 (approx. RM83) a month. Over 24 months, that is USD 432 (approx. RM1,997) for an iPhone 17e that sells for USD 599 (approx. RM2,768)—and even then, you do not automatically own it. As one critic noted, “Paying USD 18 (approx. RM83) per month for 24 months is USD 432 (approx. RM1,997)—that’s for the USD 599 (approx. RM2,768) iPhone 17e. But that’s not exactly a discount, because you don’t own the device.” iPhones also hold their value well, which means buying outright and reselling later is often cheaper than endlessly leasing. Worse, code in iOS 27 suggests Apple may limit device functionality if you miss lease payments, effectively weaponizing the product against you when money is tight. That is not convenience; that is digital repossession.
A Program Built for Subscriptions, Not Affordability
Apple Upgrade arrives just after Apple raised prices on hardware like Macs and iPads and on services such as Apple Music and AppleCare+. An Apple representative denies the ongoing memory chip shortage was the direct trigger, but the program clearly responds to a world where everything, including tech, keeps getting more expensive. Apple is also phasing out its older iPhone Upgrade plan, which bundled AppleCare+ and led to eventual ownership; now, AppleCare+ is separate, and the new structure pushes you toward permanent renting instead. Entry-level devices like the basic iPad and the iPhone 16 are excluded from the scheme, a telling sign that Apple Upgrade is not about helping people afford phones—it is about nudging them toward pricier models and higher recurring revenue. As one repair advocate put it, Apple is using its cash advantage to turn customers into renters, costing them money and agency.
How Consumers Should Respond: Own Your Tech, Not the Debt
From a consumer finance perspective, Apple Upgrade looks far more like financializing the affordability crisis than solving it. BNPL programs exploit the lure of instant gratification to drive purchases people would otherwise skip, and this leasing plan extends that logic to devices that can be remotely constrained if you fall behind. Instead of signing up for an endless stream of iPhone monthly payments, buyers should first ask a blunt question: will I own this phone at the end, and what is the total I’ll have paid compared with buying outright or using traditional carrier financing? The older iPhone Upgrade plan still lets existing users finish their term and keep their devices, and that path—like paying cash and reselling later—respects ownership. In an era of subscription fatigue, the smartest move is to avoid turning your phone into another bill and to keep control of the hardware you depend on every day.
