Apple Upgrade, the Klarna-run lease that replaced the iPhone Upgrade Program in July, is not just an iPhone plan. Apple’s own footnotes list a Mac lease starting at $24.99 a month and an iPad lease starting at $11.99, both on 24 or 36 month terms, sitting alongside the iPhone and Apple Watch leases that run 12 or 24 months.
The structure repeats across every category Apple has priced. Apple sets a starting monthly figure, Klarna underwrites the lease, and AppleCare is not part of the price on any of the four device types. That gap carries from iPhone to Watch to Mac to iPad without exception.
Key facts on Apple Upgrade by device category
| Device category | Apple Upgrade starting price | Lease terms Apple publishes |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | From $17.99/mo | 12 or 24 months |
| Apple Watch | From $11.99/mo | 12 or 24 months |
| Mac | From $24.99/mo | 24 or 36 months |
| iPad | From $11.99/mo | 24 or 36 months |
All four are run through the same program, described in Apple’s pricing coverage when it launched for iPhone in July: pay monthly, and at the end of the term either move to a new device, buy the current one outright, or return it.
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What the starting price actually buys
The “from” figures are floors, not a single price for every model in the category. On Apple Watch Series 12, Apple’s own footnote ties the $11.99 figure to the 42mm model over 24 months, or $21.99 a month over 12 months. Apple Watch Ultra 4 has its own published figure of $24.99 a month over 24 months, well above the Series 12 floor.
The iPhone side moves even further from its own floor. The $17.99 starting figure applies to Apple’s least expensive iPhone, while iPhone 18 Pro at 256GB leases for $34.99 a month over 24 months or $49.99 a month over 12. Apple has not published a matching per-configuration table for Mac or iPad the way it has for iPhone and Watch, so $24.99 and $11.99 are the only two Mac and iPad figures on the record.
Longer terms on the more expensive hardware
Mac and iPad leases stretch to 36 months, a third tier that iPhone and Apple Watch do not get. Apple’s footnotes state the term lengths plainly but do not explain why the split falls where it does. The practical result is that a Mac or iPad buyer gets an extra year to spread payments across, while an iPhone or Watch buyer is limited to two years at most.
The AppleCare gap runs through the whole lineup
Apple’s own description of Apple Upgrade says customers “can add an AppleCare subscription,” language that applies to every device category, not just iPhone. That phrasing confirms AppleCare is optional and separate on a leased Mac or iPad exactly as it is on a leased iPhone or Watch, which is the detail most coverage of the program’s iPhone debut left out.
The retired iPhone Upgrade Program bundled AppleCare into its single monthly payment. Apple Upgrade does not, on any of the four categories it now covers. The only priced way to add coverage across a household today is AppleCare One at $19.99 a month for up to three products, or the new AppleCare One Family at $49.99 a month, available from September 14 for up to six people on one Family Sharing group. Apple has not published a per-device AppleCare+ price for any product launched this September, so there is no separate line-item figure to add to a Mac or iPad lease.
Matching the lease floor to a retail price
| Model | Retail price | 24-month lease | 12-month lease |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 18 Pro (256GB) | $1,199 | $34.99/mo | $49.99/mo |
| Apple Watch Series 12 (42mm) | $399 | $11.99/mo | $21.99/mo |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 (49mm) | $799 | $24.99/mo | Apple has not published a figure |
Mac and iPad do not have an equivalent row. Apple’s $24.99 and $11.99 figures are not tied to a named model the way the iPhone and Watch figures are, so there is no retail price to set beside them yet.
What has not been confirmed
- Apple has not published a per-configuration Mac or iPad lease table, only the two starting figures.
- Apple has not said whether trade-in credit can be applied inside an Apple Upgrade lease on any device.
- Apple has not published a buyout price for a Mac or iPad at the end of its lease term.
- Apple Upgrade remains a US-only program, and Apple has not said whether or when it will reach other countries.
Apple Upgrade is running now, the same Saturday, September 12 that iPhone 18 Pro and Apple Watch Series 12 pre-orders opened at 5 a.m. PT. Both reach stores Friday, September 18, alongside Apple Watch Ultra 4, which is covered in Apple’s own Ultra 4 announcement. The full event recap has the rest of what Apple confirmed on September 9.
