Apple has launched a new product leasing service called Apple Upgrade, allowing customers to rent iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches. The service partners with Klarna for monthly payments, providing trade-in discounts and 3% daily cash back when using an Apple Card. However, monthly fees can amount to $432 per year for the iPhone 17e, which is not a significant discount as customers do not own the device.

The move has sparked concerns about Apple's strategy of keeping users in its ecosystem while limiting their control over devices. Kyle Wiens from iFixit argues that this shifts ownership away from users and into Apple’s hands. Moreover, the lease program ends Apple’s previous iPhone upgrade plan, requiring current participants to continue payments until the end of their term.

Financial experts view leasing as part of a broader pattern where people use lending services for basic goods, potentially leading to larger financial problems down the line. Whitney Barkley-Denney from the Center for Responsible Lending suggests that this approach is merely delaying affordability issues rather than solving them.

The best advice remains to buy refurbished devices, keep them as long as possible, fix them when necessary and sell them at the end of their life cycle. This method offers better value without tying users into expensive leasing agreements with Apple.