{"id":793722,"date":"2026-07-30T17:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/793722\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T17:12:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:12:20","slug":"apple-upgrade-vs-iphone-upgrade-program-here-are-the-key-differences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/793722\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Upgrade vs iPhone Upgrade Program: Here are the key differences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/apple-upgrade-iphone.jpg\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"\"  decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/07\/28\/apple-upgrade-leasing-program-debuts-how-it-works\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Upgrade<\/a> launched this week, and the iPhone Upgrade Program <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/07\/28\/apple-shuts-down-iphone-upgrade-program-heres-whats-next\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is being discontinued<\/a> as a result. But despite some similarities, the two offerings are not the same. Here are the key differences.<\/p>\n<p>#1: Leasing vs financing<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iphone-17-lineup-air.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1018685\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apple Upgrade is a leasing program, whereas the iPhone Upgrade Program used financing. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means if you get a new iPhone through Apple Upgrade, you won\u2019t actually own it. You\u2019ll make monthly payments for a 12-month or 24-month term, then have the option to either return the iPhone outright, exchange it for a new model, or pay the buyout fee to own it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The iPhone Upgrade Program also involved monthly payments. But with that program you actually owned the device, albeit with financial strings attached. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of the way Apple Upgrade <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/07\/29\/apple-upgrade-is-a-really-great-deal-for-one-reason\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">lets you buy your iPhone at the end of the term<\/a>, and has no fees, the difference between leasing and financing is functionally pretty small. But they are technically different models.<\/p>\n<p>#2: Apple Upgrade has lower monthly payments, with a catch<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2752\" height=\"1364\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/screenshot-2026-07-28-at-08.04.01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1062442\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similar to car leases vs financing, Apple Upgrade lets you get a new iPhone at a lower monthly cost than the iPhone Upgrade Program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s partly more affordable because AppleCare isn\u2019t included. But it\u2019s also a lower cost because you won\u2019t pay off the full value of the iPhone by the end of the lease term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, with Apple Upgrade you\u2019ll pay only the majority of the iPhone\u2019s cost during the lease. At the end of the lease, if you want to buy the iPhone, you\u2019ll have to pay the remaining buyout cost. In the iPhone Upgrade Program, the cost of the full product is split into monthly payments from the start, so there\u2019s no extra charge at the end.<\/p>\n<p>#3: AppleCare: Optional vs mandatory<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Apple-Short-Hills.jpg\" alt=\"Apple Store\" class=\"wp-image-942350\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apple Upgrade does not include AppleCare by default. Though you always have the option of adding it to your transaction. And it might be a good idea if you\u2019re worried about damaging a leased device.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The iPhone Upgrade Program always included AppleCare. There was no way to buy an iPhone without that added protection. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the inclusion came with a higher monthly cost, so it wasn\u2019t technically an advantage\u2014just a difference.<\/p>\n<p>#4: Apple Upgrade isn\u2019t limited to the iPhone<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/apple-upgrade-product-lineup.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1062636\"  \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The iPhone Upgrade Program, as the name suggests, is an iPhone-exclusive plan. But Apple Upgrade is much broader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Apple Upgrade, you can lease not only an iPhone, but also a Mac, iPad, and\/or Apple Watch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In theory, you could lease all four products and pay for them monthly. Lease terms are generally longer for Macs and iPads and shorter for iPhone and Apple Watch. You\u2019ll need to apply separately for each new product you want to lease through Apple Upgrade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more details on Apple Upgrade, <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/07\/28\/apple-upgrade-leasing-program-debuts-how-it-works\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">see our coverage here<\/a>. You can find a <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/2026\/07\/28\/apple-upgrade-heres-the-monthly-subscription-cost-for-every-product\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">full list of monthly subscription costs for each eligible product here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Best iPhone accessories<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/9to5mac.com\" aria-label=\"Add 9to5Mac as a preferred source on Google\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-dark\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Mac as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-light\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Mac as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer-affiliate\">FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/about\/#affiliate\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple Upgrade launched this week, and the iPhone Upgrade Program is being discontinued as a result. But despite&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-793722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}