Apple Upgrade: Lease iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Watch with Low Monthly Payments

I think Apple already makes it pretty easy to trade in an old iPhone when you buy a new phone. And they already offer financing with 0% APR. That seems like a better path to me, with greater optionality if you decide to hold onto the phone for an additional year or two after it is paid off - which I generally do since smartphone tech has matured to the point where there isn't much benefit to upgrading every one or two years.

Although this lease offer does offer lower monthly payments than financing (as you would expect with a lease, since you're only renting rather than buying a phone) if that's more important to you than total cost of ownership. And may be available to customers who wouldn't otherwise qualify for Apple's financing (which requires an Apple credit card, or a carrier agreement). It's also a 0 money factor - the cost to buy out the phone at lease-end is just the purchase price minus the sum of lease payments made - which is pretty generous.

I have no issues with leasing in theory, as long as the customer understands the trade offs. But in practice I think it often results in consumers buying more than they afford, and costing themselves money in the long run.