- Apple plans to launch Apple Upgrade, a leasing programme to ease hardware costs
- Customers can lease iPhones, Apple Watches for 24 months, Macs, iPads for 36 months
- The programme excludes AppleCare and some devices like Apple Watch SE and iPhone 16
If premium prices have kept you from buying an Apple device, a new leasing programme might change your mind. Apple is planning to launch "Apple Upgrade," a new programme designed to make hardware costs more manageable amid the ongoing RAM shortage crisis. By spreading the total price over a longer period, this subscription model is expected to significantly lower the upfront financial barrier to owning Apple products.
Scheduled to launch on July 28 in American stores and online, customers would be able to lease iPhones and Apple Watches for 24 months and Macs and iPads for 36 months, then return the devices. They could also buy them outright or upgrade early, potentially for an additional fee.
Apple has partnered with Klarna as the financial backer for its highly ambitious programme, according to a report in Bloomberg. The company is positioning the leasing programme as a lower-payment alternative to traditional financing.
It is also planning to discontinue its current iPhone payment programmes, the iPhone Upgrade Programme and standard financing, to make way for the Apple Upgrade initiative.
While Apple Upgrade sounds good on paper, it does come with a few caveats. The new initiative does not include AppleCare, and certain devices, including the Apple Watch SE, entry-level iPad, iPhone 16 and MacBook Neo, will not be available for leasing. Business and education purchases are also excluded.
Apple has not disclosed the lease's monthly rates, total payments, or end-of-lease purchase prices.
Apple Increases Prices
Apple's proposed new move comes just weeks after the company raised prices of its products to offset the increasing memory and chip shortage costs. A surge in AI-driven demand for data centres has forced consumer electronics companies into a fierce competition for dwindling supplies of the key components, driving prices sharply higher.
The steepest increases have been seen across professional MacBook models, desktop Macs and premium iPads. In some cases, prices have jumped by as much as Rs 70,000, while certain high-end configurations now cost nearly Rs 1 lakh more than before.
