Apple Upgrade Lets You Lease an iPhone, Mac, or iPad Starting July 28

Starting July 28, you’ll be able to lease an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch the same way you lease a car — Apple Upgrade replaces the old iPhone Upgrade Program with a Klarna-backed plan that covers Apple’s entire device lineup for the first time. I’ve used the iPhone Upgrade Program for three straight phones, and this is the first real overhaul it’s gotten since Apple launched it back in 2015. The pitch is simple: pay a monthly fee, and at the end of the term you can trade in for something newer, buy the device outright, or hand it back and walk away. No 24-month commitment hanging over your head like it does with a lot of carrier financing.

What’s actually changing with Apple Upgrade

Apple confirmed the July 28 launch date after Bloomberg and TechCrunch broke the story on July 21, and the details line up across every outlet that’s covered it since. The structure splits by device type:

• iPhones and Apple Watches: 24-month lease terms
• iPads and Macs: 36-month lease terms

At the end of whichever term applies, you get the same three choices you’d get walking away from a car lease: upgrade to the newest model, pay the remaining balance to keep the device you have, or return it and start over. Klarna is underwriting the financing, and enrollment only requires a soft credit check — meaning it won’t ding your credit score just to see if you qualify, unlike a hard inquiry.

The one wrinkle worth knowing before you sign up: AppleCare+ is no longer bundled in automatically. Under the old iPhone Upgrade Program, AppleCare+ came baked into the monthly price whether you wanted it or not. Under Apple Upgrade, it’s an optional add-on. That’s good news if you never used AppleCare+ and were quietly paying for it anyway, and slightly annoying if you relied on it and now have to remember to opt back in.

Why Apple is doing this now

Apple’s own iPhone Upgrade Program only ever covered iPhones. If you wanted to finance a Mac or an iPad, you were stuck with Apple’s standard installment financing or a store credit card — neither of which had the “trade in whenever” flexibility the iPhone program offered. Apple Upgrade folds all four product lines into one system, and current iPhone Upgrade Program members get to finish out their existing terms rather than being forced to switch mid-cycle.

The timing isn’t an accident either. Apple’s stock took a hit alongside the rest of the Nasdaq this week — Alphabet and Tesla both dropped sharply on July 23 as investors got nervous about AI infrastructure spending — and device upgrade cycles have been stretching longer as phones, iPads, and Macs all get more durable and “good enough” for another year. A lease structure that lowers the monthly outlay and removes the psychological barrier of “committing” to a new device is a straightforward way to shorten those cycles again. Reporting from AppleInsider and MacDailyNews both frame this explicitly as a sales-cycle play, not just a financing convenience.

How the monthly cost compares

Apple says Apple Upgrade will undercut its existing financing options on a month-to-month basis. That tracks with how lease math usually works: you’re financing the depreciation over the lease term rather than the full purchase price, the same reason a car lease payment is lower than a loan payment on the same vehicle. The tradeoff is the same one car buyers already know — lease long enough and you’ll pay more over time than if you’d bought outright and held onto the device for five or six years.

For anyone who already upgrades every year or two anyway, that tradeoff doesn’t matter much — you were never going to hold onto the device long enough for outright ownership to pay off. For anyone who tends to run a phone or laptop into the ground before replacing it, the math works against you, and buying outright (or financing over a shorter, fixed term) is still going to be cheaper.

What this means if you’re due for an upgrade

If you’re already eyeing a new iPhone this fall, waiting until after July 28 to enroll is probably worth it if a lower monthly payment matters more to you than owning the device outright. If you’d rather not deal with lease math at all, nothing about Apple Upgrade forces your hand — standard purchases, carrier deals, and trade-ins through Apple’s regular trade-in program still work exactly like they always have. I’d treat this the way I’d treat any lease offer: run the total cost over the full term against what you’d pay to just buy the phone, and don’t assume “lower monthly payment” automatically means “better deal.”

It’s also worth watching how this interacts with Apple’s broader hardware roadmap. With Apple’s custom silicon partnership with Broadcom locked in through 2031, Apple has more incentive than ever to keep customers cycling through new hardware on a predictable schedule — a leasing program that nudges people toward upgrading every two years fits neatly into that longer-term chip and product strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Does Apple Upgrade replace the iPhone Upgrade Program completely?

Yes. Apple Upgrade takes over from the iPhone Upgrade Program and Apple’s standard device financing starting July 28, 2026. If you’re already enrolled in the iPhone Upgrade Program, you can finish your current term before switching over — you won’t be forced to transition mid-lease.

Will leasing through Apple Upgrade hurt my credit score?

Enrollment uses a soft credit check, which does not affect your credit score. That’s different from a hard inquiry, which typically causes a small, temporary dip.

Do I still get AppleCare+ with an Apple Upgrade lease?

Not automatically. Unlike the old iPhone Upgrade Program, which bundled AppleCare+ into the monthly price, Apple Upgrade treats it as an optional add-on you select separately.

Is leasing cheaper than buying an iPhone outright?

Month to month, yes — Apple says Apple Upgrade payments will be lower than its existing financing options. Over the long run, if you tend to keep devices for many years, buying outright or financing over a shorter fixed term usually costs less overall. Leasing makes the most sense if you upgrade every couple of years anyway, similar to how the iPhone vs. Android upgrade-cycle math tends to shake out for frequent upgraders.

Sources: TechCrunch, with additional reporting from Bloomberg and AppleInsider.