RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Topline Apple and digital payment provider Klarna unveiled a new program on Monday allowing customers to lease rather than purchase various consumer tech products, including iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads and Macs for monthly payments—offering a cheaper financing model in the face of rising prices.
The new Apple Upgrade product will allow customers to lease devices for much cheaper monthly payments—customers can now lease iPhones starting at $17.99 per month and Apple Watches for $11.99 per month for 12 or 24 month periods.
Mac computers and iPads will be available to lease for 24 or 36 month terms, with prices starting at $24.99 and $11.99 respectively.
Customers can lower those monthly payments even further if they trade in an existing device when entering a new lease, Apple said.
When the lease ends, customers will have the option to either purchase the device outright or return it and enter a new lease for an upgraded device, according to Klarna.
The new program comes as Apple shuts down its iPhone Upgrade Program , a service that allowed customers to purchase new devices through a loan with 24 monthly payments that were more expensive than the leasing program.
Apple also allows customers to finance purchases through Apple Card Monthly Installments , a 0% interest program for multiple products like iPhones and AirPods.
The new leasing program comes as Apple continues to raise prices on consumer tech products, most recently announcing price hikes on MacBooks and iPads in June. Analysts are predicting the upcoming iPhone 18 model, which will likely be introduced in September, could be the company’s priciest model yet. Analysis from TechInsights published by the Wall Street Journal predicted the upcoming model could cost as much as $1,299. In June, outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal the price increases were related to the rising price of memory, which he compared to a “hundred-year flood.”
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