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> To make way for Apple Upgrade — a new experience that offers more products and terms that work for you — we’re saying goodbye to the iPhone Upgrade Program.

https://www.apple.com/shop/apple-upgrade

It looks like this leasing program is just moving into a more generic/Apple-wide offering... not sure if the fine print changes.

[edit: from the comments, it sounds like the difference is it was previously 0% interest financing and no longer is]

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It's "just" a restructuring; the previous setup was a really bizarre financial product where Citizens Bank gave you a 24-month 0% personal loan to buy an iPhone, but Apple would also buy your phone and loan out and sell you a new one every 12 months.

Now it's just a normal lease product with a 0% money factor through Klarna, that also works across Apple.

What this does is gives Apple more "price flexibility" (aka, they can raise prices more easily, which was probably a lot of the driver for this), but also gives consumers more buying power flexibility since it's a simple product that works across the board rather than a bizarre iPhone specific optimized financial instrument.

Citizens was the worst part of the prior program

Makes sense, thanks!

The new Apple Upgrade is also 0%, but has lower monthly payments and a balloon payment at the end, like a typical lease. It's not just cost / 24mo.

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