Apple Upgrade has launched across the United States as a new way to lease an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch directly through Apple rather than purchase the device outright or finance its complete retail price.
Klarna provides the consumer leases, while enrollment is available through the Apple Store website, Apple Store app and physical Apple Store locations. Monthly prices begin at $17.99 for iPhone, $11.99 for Apple Watch, $24.99 for Mac and $11.99 for iPad.
Customers can choose 12- or 24-month terms for eligible iPhone and Apple Watch models. Mac and iPad leases are available over 24 or 36 months, although every term may not be offered for every configuration.
The program gives frequent upgraders lower monthly payments than purchasing the full device through installments. The tradeoff is ownership: the customer does not own the product at the end of the original lease unless the remaining purchase option fee is paid.
Apple Upgrade Is Leasing, Not Financing
The distinction between leasing and financing changes how customers should compare Apple Upgrade with Apple Card Monthly Installments.
Apple Card Monthly Installments divides the full purchase price of an eligible product into interest-free payments. Once those payments are completed, the customer owns the device without another buyout.
Apple Upgrade charges for using the product during the selected term. At the end, the customer can return it and leave the program, return it while beginning a new lease for another device or make a one-time payment to purchase it.
The monthly lease payment can therefore be lower than a payment calculated from the complete retail price. Customers who continually replace their hardware may prefer paying for the period during which they use each device instead of owning several older products afterward.
Long-term owners should compare the lease carefully with a conventional purchase. A Mac kept for six or seven years can deliver considerable value after its financing period ends, while someone leasing must return the computer, begin another lease or pay the purchase option fee.
Apple provides several examples. An iPhone 17 Pro with 256GB costs $31.99 per month under a 24-month lease or $45.99 over 12 months. An 11-inch iPad Pro with 256GB costs $24.99 per month for 36 months or $31.99 for 24 months.
A 14-inch MacBook Pro priced at $1,999 carries typical payments of $38.99 for 36 months or $53.99 for 24 months. Taxes, AppleCare and any applicable fees are separate.
How Enrollment and Approval Work
Apple Upgrade requires a new application for each leased product. A customer seeking both an iPhone and a Mac cannot place the two devices under one combined agreement.
To apply online:
Apple Store > Select an eligible product > Choose Apple Upgrade at checkout > Select a lease term > Complete the Klarna application
Applicants provide information including their legal name, date of birth, phone number, email address, billing address and Social Security number. An individual taxpayer identification number can also satisfy the identification requirement.
Customers must be U.S. residents, excluding U.S. territories, and at least 18 or the legal contracting age in their state. They also need an Apple Account in good standing, a Klarna account, an eligible credit or debit card and a phone capable of receiving verification codes by text message.
Klarna performs a soft credit inquiry during the application. Apple says that inquiry does not affect the applicant’s credit score, although approval remains subject to eligibility and creditworthiness.
There is no security deposit or optional down payment. Apple Pay, PayPal and prepaid cards cannot be used for Apple Upgrade payments. Some card issuers and networks may also be excluded by Klarna.
Apple Card can be used as the payment card, allowing eligible cardholders to receive 3% Daily Cash on lease payments.
iPhone Leasing Requires a Major Carrier
An iPhone leased through Apple Upgrade must initially be connected to AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon. Customers cannot select a prepaid carrier during enrollment.
The leased iPhone remains unlocked, allowing the user to change carriers later according to the provider terms. The carrier requirement applies only to iPhone; customers can lease an eligible Mac, iPad or Apple Watch without connecting it to a wireless provider.
This differs from buying an unlocked iPhone outright, where a customer may be able to activate the device through a wider range of prepaid and smaller carriers from the beginning.
Apple Upgrade also replaces two existing U.S. options. Apple is ending the iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments as the new leasing service becomes available.
Existing iPhone Upgrade Program members can move into Apple Upgrade when eligible, use Apple Card Monthly Installments, select carrier financing or purchase their next iPhone outright.
Trade-In Credit Lowers the Initial Lease
A customer can trade in an eligible device when joining Apple Upgrade for the first time. Klarna distributes the approved credit across the monthly payments during the initial lease term, lowering the amount charged each month.
The trade-in must match the condition described during the estimate. When Apple receives a device in worse condition or does not receive it within the required period, Klarna can adjust the monthly payment to reflect the lower value.
Trade-in credit applies only to the first lease term. A customer cannot provide another owned device as a trade-in when upgrading from one Apple Upgrade lease to the next.
The leased product being returned is also not treated as a conventional trade-in because the customer does not own it. It must be returned in the condition required by the lease.
To prepare for the next device, Apple can supply a prepaid return kit or accept the leased product at an Apple Store.
Returns, Damage and Early Exit Fees
Customers have 14 days after receiving an Apple Upgrade product to return it and cancel the lease. After that period, leaving the agreement early can become expensive.
Apple states that the early termination fee can equal the remaining unpaid monthly lease payments, including applicable taxes and fees, through the end of the original term.
AppleCare is not included in the monthly lease price. Customers have up to 60 days after enrollment to purchase AppleCare coverage, or they can add the device to an AppleCare One subscription when starting the lease.
Returning a damaged product without applicable coverage may produce a damage fee. Losing the device or having it stolen does not automatically cancel the agreement, and monthly charges continue until the customer pays the required early termination or purchase option amount.
At the scheduled end of the lease, the customer has as long as six months to choose whether to upgrade, return or purchase the product. Payments continue during that extension and may increase, particularly when an initial trade-in credit has expired.
When no action is taken before the extension ends, Klarna charges the purchase option fee and ownership transfers to the customer.
Not every current product qualifies. Apple excludes iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, Apple Watch SE, MacBook Neo, Mac mini, iPad with A16 and Studio Display from Apple Upgrade at launch.