GoKawiilis a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
Apple’s new Upgrade program is here, allowing you to lease select models of iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Watches with a relatively low monthly payment. The company promises you won’t pay more than the full price of the device over the course of the one- to three-year lease, and in some cases, you’ll pay hundreds of dollars less.
The basics of the program make it sound like an amazing deal… so surely there must be a catch, right?
The answer basically depends on how you use the Upgrade Program. At least with current pricing, a diligent user really should be able to make a monthly payment, swap in their phone a year or more later, and move along. But like any program involving monthly payments and trade-ins, there are caveats to be aware of — the most important of which is your ability to keep paying on time throughout the length of the contract.
The basics of the program work like this: You’ll pay the same monthly fee throughout the course of your contract. At the end of your lease, you have three choices. One of those options is to purchase the device by paying the difference between what you’ve paid and its remaining cost. For example, if you pay $695.76 to lease an iPhone Air for two years, you’d have to pay an extra $303.24 to purchase it at its $999 price tag.
Here’s a breakdown of how much you’d pay for the devices included in the Apple Upgrade program, as well as how much more you’d pay to purchase the devices outright at the end of your lease:
Then there are the other two options. At the end of your lease, you can also choose to simply end the contract there, though you’ll then have to return the device and lose any potential resale or trade-in value. Or you can upgrade to another device immediately and switch to whatever monthly payment that new device demands.
The single biggest catch of the Upgrade Program is that it’s ultimately just a loan, and like any loan, there’s a contract, along with possible fees and terms you have to abide by.
Apple says there aren’t any late fees or interest on the loans, which are offered through the buy now, pay later service Klarna. In a statement to The Verge, Klarna spokesperson Clare Nordstrom says if a person misses three payments in a row, the company “will terminate the lease agreement and the customer will need to pay the full outstanding balance.”
Klarna doesn’t say what will happen if you don’t pay the outstanding balance. However, a support page about payments with Klarna says if a payment “is not registered by the last reminder due date, the debt is transferred to debt collection,” though it’s unclear whether this applies to the Apple Upgrade program. The Verge reached out to Klarna for more information but didn’t immediately hear back.
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