Apple Upgrade: lease an iPhone from $17.99/month

On July 28, 2026, Apple officially launched a new device leasing program called Apple Upgrade. Built in partnership with Swedish fintech Klarna, a specialist in installment payments, the service lets US customers lease an iPhone, Mac, iPad, or Apple Watch by paying a fixed monthly fee instead of the full price upfront. The new option is available now on the online Apple Store, in the Apple Store app, and at physical Apple Store locations across the United States. Apple’s stated goal is to simplify device upgrades and revive an upgrade cycle that has been steadily lengthening year after year.

How Apple Upgrade works

Apple Upgrade follows the logic of a lease (rental with a renewal option), a model already common in the auto industry but still rarely applied by Apple across its entire product line. In practice, the customer picks a device, selects a commitment length, then pays a fixed amount every month through the Klarna app, which handles the entire billing and tracking process.

The starting prices announced by Apple are as follows:

• iPhone: starting at $17.99 per month
• Apple Watch: starting at $11.99 per month
• iPad: starting at $11.99 per month
• Mac: starting at $24.99 per month

Commitment lengths vary by product category. For iPhone and Apple Watch, customers can choose between a one-year or two-year term. For Mac and iPad, devices typically kept longer, the available terms are two or three years.

At the end of the contract, users have three options: move to the next generation of the device by signing a new contract, buy out the current device by paying its residual value in one lump sum, or simply return it to Apple and exit the program at no extra cost. This flexibility brings Apple Upgrade close to the device renewal plans offered by some carriers, but with the advantage of being managed directly by the manufacturer.

Why Apple is retiring its old financing program

This launch comes with a quieter but equally significant change: Apple is discontinuing its iPhone Upgrade Program as well as its in-house installment option, iPhone Payments, in the United States. Both of these long-standing programs, run internally by Apple in partnership with banks, are now being replaced by a system entirely operated by Klarna.

Several factors explain this shift. First, outsourcing financial management lets Apple focus on its core business while leaning on Klarna’s expertise in consumer credit and customer scoring. Second, Apple is clearly looking to reinvigorate an upgrade cycle that has noticeably stretched out in recent years: many users now keep their iPhone for more than three or four years, lacking a clear financial incentive to upgrade sooner.

The context is also shaped by the approaching iPhone 18 Pro, expected in fall 2026, and by the prospect of an anniversary iPhone with a deeply revised design in 2027. By making its devices more accessible through affordable monthly payments, Apple hopes to keep users within its ecosystem long-term and reduce the temptation to switch to cheaper Android alternatives at the point of purchase.

Contract management happens entirely within the Klarna app, where users can check their payment schedule, remaining installments, and contract end date at any time. This centralization through a third-party app, rather than an Apple-built tool, marks a notable break from the company’s usual habits, as Apple is generally reluctant to hand such a sensitive part of the customer experience to an outside partner.

What you should know before signing up

For now, Apple Upgrade is limited to the US market. No date has been announced for a rollout in France or Europe more broadly, where consumer credit habits and regulations differ significantly. European readers will therefore need to keep relying on carrier trade-in and financing offers, or a standard outright purchase, for the time being.

Before signing up for this type of program, it’s worth keeping in mind a few general precautions that apply to any lease-to-own offer: the total cost over the contract term almost always exceeds the outright purchase price of the device; returning the device in good condition is a condition for avoiding extra fees; and the contractual commitment limits the freedom to resell the device to a third party during the lease. Apple Upgrade is aimed primarily at users who like to switch devices regularly and who prefer the budget predictability of a fixed monthly payment over one large upfront expense.

For buyers who prefer to own their device outright from day one, with no lease or commitment, a standard purchase remains available as always. In France, for example, the iPhone 17 256GB, currently the most versatile model in the lineup with its 120Hz ProMotion display and A19 chip, is already available through several retailers.

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Klarna, a partner no stranger to lending controversies

Choosing Klarna as Apple Upgrade’s exclusive operator has not gone unnoticed. The Swedish company built a global reputation through buy now, pay later financing, a model that has grown explosively in e-commerce but also draws recurring criticism from consumer groups and financial regulators. They regularly point to the risk of overindebtedness among buyers who stack up payment plans across multiple platforms without always keeping a full picture of what they owe.

By partnering with Klarna rather than keeping credit management in-house, Apple shifts part of the regulatory responsibility and default risk to a specialized player, while benefiting from its scoring and collections infrastructure already proven across tens of millions of customers worldwide. For end users, this also means that eligibility for an Apple Upgrade contract will depend on Klarna’s own criteria, which may differ from those Apple applied with its previous banking partners.

How it compares to carrier upgrade plans

In the US as in France, mobile carriers have long offered early-upgrade plans, usually tied to a service plan. The key difference with Apple Upgrade is its independence from any phone plan: it’s possible to lease an iPhone through this program without switching carriers or signing up for an additional line. This will appeal to users who want to decouple their choice of hardware from their choice of mobile plan, a flexibility few manufacturer programs have offered this clearly until now.

Another key difference: the Apple Upgrade monthly fee covers the device only, not associated services (AppleCare, data plan, damage insurance), which still need to be purchased separately if desired. It’s worth comparing the total cost, device plus add-ons, before choosing between a traditional carrier program and this new Apple offering.

The bottom line

With Apple Upgrade, Apple is reshuffling its financing strategy by partnering with Klarna instead of managing credit in-house. The service, available since July 28, 2026 in the United States, offers monthly payments ranging from $11.99 to $24.99 depending on the device, with commitment terms from one to three years. It remains to be seen whether Apple will extend this model to other markets, particularly Europe, where carrier financing habits remain deeply entrenched. Wanda-techs will keep following this story closely, especially as the iPhone 18 Pro launch approaches this fall.

Have you ever used a device leasing service like this one? Share your experience in the comments, and check out all our Apple coverage on Wanda-techs.