Replaced by a lease program - https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade
Pay $32/mo (so $770 total) to use an iPhone for two years and then give it back to Apple.
This is truly the most dystopian timeline.
Replaced by a lease program - https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade
Pay $32/mo (so $770 total) to use an iPhone for two years and then give it back to Apple.
This is truly the most dystopian timeline.
> Pay $32/mo (so $770 total) to use an iPhone for two years and then give it back to Apple.
At the end of your device lease term, you have an option to buy out your leased device. With the buy out cost being equal to the device sticker price minus the amount you had already paid on your lease.
This seems pretty fair to me tbh.
Was it replaced though? I still see the option to finance at 0% on https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-17-pro.
> This is truly the most dystopian timeline.
Why? Leasing has always been an option that some people and businesses prefer, depending on the circumstances. It’s commonly done with cars. In business situations leasing can be very common because it works well with your cash flow and doesn’t require taking more debt on your books.
You can buy out the item at the end of the lease term. Some people like this optionality because they get to defer the purchase decision into the future and benefit from any new information, like whether or not a new iPhone is worth upgrading to or how the battery is holding up.
The fact that we need to use the financing models of cars for basic consumer electronics is the dystopian part.
Then I guess we’ve been in the dystopia for almost a century now. When I was a kid in the 70s and 80s we leased our TV and VCR. It was hugely common in the UK, the company was on many high streets and literally called Radio Rentals, founded 1930: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Rentals
> Radio Rentals was the largest television rental group in the UK and claimed that at its peak it had more than two million customers, more than 500 shops, 3,600 technicians, 2,700 skilled installers and a large ancillary staff. It had sales and service locations across the UK; the Radio Rentals logo being a common sight on many High Streets.
We still have this in the US, it’s called Rent-A-Center and it’s a way to extract extra money from poor people for luxuries they can’t afford.
You don’t need to do it. It’s an option.
Also calling the latest iPhone “basic consumer electronics” is out of touch. The budget options are older generation iPhones or other phones, not one of the most expensive brands on the market.
You can still just buy it. This is another payment option.
For now
What makes you think Apple would not accept 100% payment today if someone wants to buy the device outright?
Today = now. So yes, they accept this, for now.
The way things are going, in the future I can see device makers deciding that a lease-only model might be preferable, both for recurring revenue and deeper control. If you don’t own your device, you can’t complain too loudly about right to repair, device restrictions, or software end-of-life.
A lease model would also prevent resale, so devices could be “verified” as belonging to a particular person for their entire lifetime. This simplifies the various verified identity schemes.
A lease model means that your lease could be revoked and your device bricked if you violate the terms. To “ensure good behavior”.
You already do it for music and TV shows. That's not cheap either.
"need" is doing a lot of work for a luxury product
The most dystopian thing about this timeline is how completely normalised corporate propaganda is.
> While our customers have loved the iPhone Upgrade Program, we’re always looking for ways to give them more flexibility, better value, and a more seamless experience.
If I were malicious dictator for life, there would be a special section in my gulags for the people who write copy that entails telling customers it's raining while pissing on them.