people are keeping their devices longer , seems AAPL is trying to get services revenue from devices (for the more dedicated users, or people like me who seem to get new AirPods Pro every year or so because the case gets so gnarly).
Apple Upgrade. Iāve been wondering when Apple would launch a subscription hardware program.
I wonder if this is preparation for even more price hikes to come.
Any idea if this is interest free and if itās a purchase or a lease?
This could be a way of Apple making higher costs seem more palatable, and giving them a way to encourage upgrades more often than people are likely to want if paying full price.
Thereās also the possibility they could charge on top of the hardware cost for āinterestā or itās equivalent.
And of course itās US onlyā¦
If they were a massive company with significant resources, maybe they could learn to walk and chew gum at the same time.
I just about guarantee that anything beyond 12 months or so (their current āApple Card Monthly Installmentsā payment plan) is going to charge interest. Their partner is Klarna, and I would assume some small kickback on the back end from Klarnaās interest rates.
+1
Goldman dropped the Apple Card because they lost $ billions due, in part, to high delinquency rates.
I donāt know that I have a problem with this as a theoretical policy - it will depend how itās implemented in practice, though.
There needs to be visibility so that somebody buying a device can see if it has this behavior turned on. And the implementation needs to be bulletproof, in the sense that there basically never needs to be a false positive for a missed payment.
Remember Siracusa talking about AppleCare One? He had a Mac that was on his account, and apparently Apple decided that they didnāt think it was signed in with his Apple ID anymore. So they dispatched an email telling him he had 24 hours to solve the problem or lose coverage. That sort of glitch is unacceptable when weāre talking about AppleCare, and itās even more unacceptable when it comes to disabling a device entirely.
The worry is that it really does seem to be moving where you are no longer in control of your device. These moves are alarm bells going off in my head about a seemingly major move of making people simple users of machines they no longer own or control. Iāve probably watched too many conspiracy theory movies!
I posted this story as a follow up. I donāt have a problem with this either.
I used to upgrade my iPhone more often than I do now. I replaced my original iPhone with a 4S, followed by a 5S, and 6S. Then I purchased an iPhone 11 for its low light camera, and kept that until I bought an iPhone 16P for its promised Apple Intelligence features.
Legacy Siri sucks, but my 16P is a great phone and I donāt anticipate replacing it anytime soon.
In this case you arenāt the owner of the hardware though, the finance company are.
If you buy outright or arrange your own financing, then youās have full control.
The problem is once Apple code in an ability to lock down your machine in some way, you are no longer ultimately in control. Although one would expect that Apple would not invoke this if you bought the machine outright, maladaption by hacker or government could take away your control. It would be a kind of Apple āRansomwareā built right into your machine. It would also raise the question of if Apple would use it to stop you wiping the drive and installing Linux or something else. This option opens the door to all kinds of concerns.
This isnāt newā¦
Apple built this in about 10 years ago. They did it so that If your phone gets stolen and you reported it to your phone network, they could lock it out so it couldnāt be reused. It was done to discourage theft. This was before iCloud accounts were required to be removed and the device released.
If you have a phone from your work and they implement MDM via a profile, that can lock it down. This has been in place for many years.
Apple has regularly taken action to stop Jailbreaking by closing loopholes and vulnerabilities. Thatās no different.
Itās official now:
Not sure if these leased phones will be locked or unlocked. Canāt find this on the Apple website.
Will you get an unlocked iPhone?
When you purchase an iPhone at Apple by paying in full or financing with an Apple financing option, youāll receive an unlocked model that you can use with any carrier
I donāt know whether Klarna is an āApple financing optionā thoughā¦
The program is nothing for me being in Europe, but I have doubts if I were interested anyway.
With Apple Upgrade, youāre renting the device, and at the end of the lease, you must either return the device or purchase it with an unspecified one-time payment. Apple says you can also āupgrade to the latest generation,ā but thatās marketing-speakāa footnote clarifies that the original lease ends and you have to start a new one.
In fact, all the important details are in those fine print footnotes. If you want to stop paying, you can terminate your lease and return the device, but Apple will charge you āsubstantial fees.ā If you do nothing at the end of the lease, it automatically converts to a month-to-month lease for up to 6 months, possibly with higher monthly payments. If you take no action at the end of the 6-month extension, Apple will charge you the purchase fee.
Also, the iPhone Upgrade Program included AppleCare, whereas Apple Upgrade does not. (ā¦)
via: Apple Upgrade Replaces and Extends iPhone Upgrade Program - TidBITS
Am I missing something?
Basically, you are renting a device or several devices. You will have to return the rented device at the end of the lease. If you donāt (within 6 months), you will be charged a purchase fee. If you miss a payment, using your device can be ārestrictedā as already mentioned in this thread. If you do return the device, you will need to rent a new device and basically start over renting the next device. If the device will be damaged, you will have to pay for the repair. No AppleCare included. What is the benefit of this program?