Apple began leasing iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches to U.S. customers on Tuesday, with monthly payments starting at $17.99 for a phone.
Key Points:
- Apple Upgrade went live in the United States, with leases provided by Klarna for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad.
- Phone and watch leases run 12 or 24 months, while Mac and iPad leases run 24 or 36 months.
- The program replaces the iPhone Upgrade Program and follows sweeping June price increases tied to a memory chip shortage.
Apple Upgrade Leasing Terms And Prices
The company announced the program, called Apple Upgrade, on Tuesday, and Klarna, a lender known for buy now, pay later loans, provides the contracts. Shoppers can apply online, in the Apple Store app or inside a retail location, and each applicant faces a soft credit check that leaves a credit score untouched. Apple also stopped offering the iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments in the United States.
iPhone and Apple Watch leases run 12 or 24 months, while Mac and iPad leases run 24 or 36 months. Monthly prices start at $17.99 for an iPhone, $11.99 for an Apple Watch, $24.99 for a Mac and $11.99 for an iPad, and a trade-in lowers those payments.
The company excluded several products, among them the iPhone 16, the Apple Watch SE, the MacBook Neo and the Mac mini. At the end of a term, customers can upgrade to a newer model, buy the device with a one-time payment, or return it and walk away. Leaving early can trigger substantial fees, and a lease that runs past its term converts to a month-to-month arrangement for as long as six months.
Also Read: Crypto Wrench Attacks Reach 52 Cases In Six Months, Most Of Them In France
Analysts Expect Shorter iPhone Replacement Cycles
Karen Rasmussen, who runs the Apple Store online, said the arrangement gives customers a more flexible way to pay for the products they want. The pitch pulls attention away from a sticker price and toward a monthly figure that fits beside a phone bill.
Analysts read the move as a volume play.
The average iPhone replacement cycle has stretched to nearly four years, according to estimates from Bernstein, and a lease with a built in upgrade path pushes that number lower.
Nabila Popal, a senior research director at IDC, has said most buyers in developed markets already rely on installment plans or trade-ins, so more aggressive offers were likely.
Memory Chip Shortage Behind Apple Price Hikes
Leasing arrives after a punishing year for components. Demand from AI data centers has pulled memory and storage output away from phones and laptops, a squeeze the industry has nicknamed RAMageddon.
Apple raised prices across Macs, iPads, home devices and Vision Pro on Jun. 25, its first sweeping increase across several product lines at once.
The base MacBook Air climbed to $1,299 from $1,099, while the iPad Air moved to $749 from $599 and the entry level MacBook Neo went to $699. Microsoft lifted Xbox prices in the same week and blamed the same shortage.
Read Next: XRP Near-Term Forecasts Top Out At $1.25 Before The Fed Decision