Apple iPhone upgrade program customers in the US are about to get a new path to monthly payments. Apple plans to launch Apple Upgrade on July 28, and the Klarna-backed lease would cover most iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches.
The reported terms split by device. iPhones and Apple Watches would run for 24 months, while Macs and iPads would run for 36 months, and enrollment would require a soft credit check.
Apple Upgrade and Klarna
Apple would offer the program through its website and retail stores. That gives buyers a second route beyond the current iPhone Upgrade Program, which spreads the cost of an iPhone and AppleCare Plus with Theft and Loss across 24 interest-free payments and lets customers upgrade after 12 payments and a trade-in.
Apple is also expected to stop taking new enrollments in its current iPhone Upgrade Program and its standard iPhone financing once Apple Upgrade launches. For customers who have been waiting to stretch out the cost of new hardware, that switch matters more than the name on the plan.
Monthly Payments, Extra Fees
The tradeoff is that the lower monthly bill is not a free upgrade path. Customers could return the device at the end of the agreement, pay the remaining balance to keep it, or upgrade early, and some of those choices could carry extra fees.
AppleCare reportedly will not be included in Apple Upgrade. That leaves buyers comparing a lease with a separate protection purchase against the current bundle, where insurance-style coverage is already part of the payment structure.
MacBook Air and iPad Air
The launch comes after Apple raised the MacBook Air price from $1,099 to $1,299 and the iPad Air price from $599 to $749. Apple reported $111.2 billion in revenue and nearly $29.6 billion in net income for the three months ended March 28.
In June, applications for new credit reached their highest rate in nearly five years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and a separate Federal Reserve survey found that 37% of adults would need to borrow money or sell something to cover a $400 emergency expense. The unresolved question is which exact devices will be excluded when Apple Upgrade opens on July 28.
