Key Takeaways

  • Apple is launching “Apple Upgrade,” a lease-to-own program built with Klarna, starting July 28, 2026.
  • iPhones and Apple Watches lease for up to 24 months, Macs and iPads up to 36 months, and you can keep the device, return it, or trade up early.
  • This is landing right as iPhone prices keep climbing thanks to the memory chip shortage, and that timing is not an accident.

Jump to:

What Apple Upgrade Actually Is

Apple just confirmed it’s teaming up with Klarna, the buy-now-pay-later company, to launch something called Apple Upgrade starting July 28. It’s a lease, not a loan. You pay monthly, Apple keeps technical ownership of the device, and Klarna handles the financing so Apple doesn’t have to carry the credit risk itself. iPhones and Apple Watches lease for terms up to 24 months. Macs and iPads stretch up to 36 months.

When the term ends you get three options. Keep the device outright, hand it back, or roll straight into a new one and start the clock over. Functionally it works a lot like leasing a car, except the thing you’re leasing loses most of its value the second a new model drops instead of gradually depreciating over a decade.

The program rolls out through Apple Stores and online, U.S. only for now, covering iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches. TechCrunch reported that Apple is positioning this as a subscription for hardware, which honestly is the most Apple sentence I’ve read all year.

Why Apple Is Doing This Now

I don’t think this is a coincidence. Memory chip prices have been climbing all year, and that’s dragged phone prices up right along with them. We already covered how an iPhone Ultra could realistically hit $2,400, and when your flagship phone starts creeping toward laptop money, fewer people can just swipe a card and walk out with one.

Leasing is how you keep people buying new hardware every year or two without making them feel the full sticker shock up front. Bloomberg framed it plainly, calling this a move to spur sales as affordability gets tighter. That’s Apple admitting, in its own roundabout corporate way, that $1,200 phones are starting to be a hard sell even for the Apple faithful.

It’s also worth saying out loud that Apple isn’t the only company leaning on AI and financing gymnastics to keep revenue climbing lately. We just wrote about Netflix dropping $587 million on Ben Affleck’s AI film startup, and between that and this leasing play, it’s a good week for watching big companies get creative about where the money actually comes from.

Should You Actually Do This

Here’s my honest take. If you’re the type of person who upgrades your phone every single year no matter what, Apple Upgrade might genuinely save you money and hassle compared to trading in a barely-used phone for pennies on the dollar. The math can work in your favor if you actually use the upgrade cycle.

But if you’re like most people and keep a phone for three or four years until it physically falls apart, leasing is a worse deal every time. You’ll pay monthly for years, hand the phone back at the end, and own absolutely nothing. That’s fine for a car you’re going to trade in anyway. It’s a rougher deal for a phone that still works great in year four.

My advice is simple. If Apple Upgrade gets you into a new iPhone for less money down and you were going to upgrade constantly anyway, go for it. If you’re just trying to make an increasingly expensive phone feel more affordable one month at a time, you’re better off buying last year’s model outright and skipping the whole leasing conversation entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Apple Upgrade?

Apple Upgrade is a lease-to-own program built with Klarna that lets U.S. customers pay monthly for an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch instead of buying it outright.

When does Apple Upgrade launch?

Apple Upgrade launches in the United States on July 28, 2026.

How long is an Apple Upgrade lease?

iPhones and Apple Watches lease for up to 24 months. Macs and iPads lease for up to 36 months.

What happens when the lease ends?

You can keep the device, return it, or upgrade to a new device and start a new lease term.

Is Apple Upgrade the same as the old iPhone Upgrade Program?

No. The original iPhone Upgrade Program was carrier-style financing through Apple. Apple Upgrade is a formal lease built in partnership with Klarna, covering more device categories.