Pay $32/mo (so $770 total) to use an iPhone for two years and then give it back to Apple.

This is truly the most dystopian timeline.

They’re discontinuing this and replacing it with Apple Upgrade, which is structured as a lease. Apple owns the device and you make payments. You either return the device or buy it out at the end.

The distinction probably doesn’t matter much to the typical consumer, other than the final price differences. Some people have an emotional attachment to knowing they own the phone instead of leasing it (I’m emotionally attached to this position, however illogical) but in the end it comes down to having a device in your hand for a monthly payment.

Instead of automatically owning the device after making all payments, you can choose return/upgrade/buy it at the end of the lease. The new program is backed by Klarna, uses a soft credit check, and no longer includes AppleCare+ by default.

The fact that the page is not particularly clear about any of this should tell you everything you need to know about this change.

I know a lot of people use postpaid, but I can't understand why. I'd challenge anyone to justify that decision, given that the phone "deals" are rarely even much of a subsidy as opposed to a financing scheme that acts as a contract, and the plans cost about triple what I pay every month, for fewer features and equivalent at best priority and speeds.

[1] https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/15/apple-card-financing-sim-free...

https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade

It looks like this leasing program is just moving into a more generic/Apple-wide offering... not sure if the fine print changes.

[edit: from the comments, it sounds like the difference is it was previously 0% interest financing and no longer is]

If I am reading the FAQ here properly: https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade.

> If you decide to buy the device, the purchase option fee is the list price minus any lease payments you’ve made minus any remaining discounts or trade-in credit. (excluding tax and any damage fees).

Lets look at a couple examples:

iPhone 17 pro max would be $1199 to buy (~1273 with tax) or $34.99 for 24 months totaling $839.76. So would cost 433.33 at the end of the lease to keep it

The cheapest 16" MBP would be 2,999 to buy (3186.44 with tax) or $57.99 for 36 months (or 80.99 for 24 months). 2087.64 or 1943.76. So around ~1k to buy it at the end.

It looks like you can keep making payments for 6 months to lower the buyout price a little bit.

So worst case scenario this is a 3 and a half year interest free loan with a higher payment at the end.

Seems not terrible? As long as you treat it as a loan and not a lease you can end at any point it seems fine and nothing really shady about it. You still have the option to own the device for the original cost.