Apple's newly launched leasing program, Apple Upgrade, is drawing attention from tech commentators like Max Tech YouTuber Vadim Yuryev, who says the plan can leave consumers better off financially than paying full price up front, provided they understand the fine print.
Apple introduced the program on July 28, allowing customers to lease an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch for a low monthly fee instead of paying the full retail price. The service is administered through Klarna and requires a soft credit check for approval. It should also be noted that once a lease ends, customers can upgrade, pay a one-time fee to keep the device, or return it. So far, Apple has not disclosed how the buyout fee will be calculated.
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In a post on X in response to Bloomberg's Apple expert Mark Gurman, Yuryev walked through the math, using a $2,999 MacBook Pro as an example.
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He said a 36-month lease would run $58 per month, leaving a $911 balance due at the end — though Apple gives lessees six additional months to decide, during which payments drop to $53 per month. Yuryev argued that paying off that final balance makes sense because the device could then be resold for "$1,500+ on eBay or Facebook marketplace," rather than the customer simply losing the amount paid in over the life of the lease.
Yuryev emphasized that "you never pay more" than the device's MSRP, since Apple Upgrade carries no interest or lease fees. He added that the primary risk is failing to keep up with payments or falling short on the final balance, and noted that once a device is paid off, users can start a new lease while keeping the original one.
Gurman, whose original post Yuryev was replying to, had cautioned that comparing outright purchases, financing, and resale value requires shoppers to run their own numbers — something he suggested most buyers are unlikely to do.
Of course, potential buyers (or, in this case, renters) should have a healthy skepticism of any kind of leasing arrangement, even Apple Upgrade.
The math only favors the consumer under fairly specific conditions. As discussed, the program doesn't lower the actual price of a device — it simply spreads the cost into smaller, easier-to-swallow payments, and the best-case scenario Yuryev outlined requires a lessee to save up several hundred dollars for a lump-sum payoff at the end of the term, then successfully resell the device for its full resale value. And that's assuming the used market isn't overrun with other used lease devices, which would further lower the potential resale price.
So, maybe the real strategy here is to pull a patient gamer and wait a couple of years to get an M5 MacBook for half the price. Then, you'll actually own the device outright, with no extra math required.
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