Apple’s rumored upgrade plan could lock users in

A reported new Apple Upgrade program could mark a major shift from Apple’s current financing model. According to Bloomberg, Apple is preparing a replacement for the iPhone Upgrade Program, and the biggest concern is simple: customers may no longer end up owning the device they pay for.

Today’s iPhone Upgrade Program spreads the full purchase price over 24 months, with no charge for the credit. At the end of that period, the device is yours. Customers can also upgrade after 12 months, effectively starting a new two-year agreement while trading the old iPhone back to Apple.

Bloomberg reportedly says the new program would extend to most other Apple products, including a three-year term for Mac purchases. But unlike the current setup, it may work more like a car lease. In that model, monthly payments cover only the product’s depreciation during the lease term, plus any interest if charged, rather than the full price of the device.

That would mean lower monthly payments, but a potentially worse long-term deal. At the end of the lease, customers typically either:

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• return the product, or
• make a balloon payment to cover the gap between depreciation and the full purchase price

The concern raised in the source piece is that many people do not set aside extra money for that final payment. In practice, that can push them into returning the device and starting a fresh lease, creating a cycle where they keep paying but never own the hardware.

If Apple applies that structure to iPhones and Macs, users who finance devices this way could be nudged into upgrading every two years for an iPhone or every three years for a Mac. The source argues that even without interest charges, the lifetime cost of ownership would be significantly higher.

There is another risk if AppleCare+ is not included, as the report suggests. A lost, stolen, or destroyed device could leave a customer still making monthly payments on hardware they no longer have, while also facing that end-of-term balloon payment.

The article’s core argument is that if Apple does replace the current program, the better approach would be to offer both options: a lease-style plan for lower monthly costs, and the existing credit-based model for buyers who want more control over when they upgrade.