Buy or Lease an iPhone?

Apple's new offer is compelling, but how clean are you?

Apple this week introduced a new leasing program aimed at folks who have to have the latest and greatest new iPhone yearly.

Memory prices have skyrocketed, causing the prices of consumer tech to go up in kind. So Apple’s new Upgrade program, with credit company Klarna, can save you money, theoretically, and get you a new phone faster. But is it a good deal for you? Kind of unlikely.

You can lease iPhones, Macs, iPads and the Apple Watch, but let’s focus on the iPhone, Apple’s most popular product.

The pitch: pay a monthly fee instead of a big $1,000+ purchase, use the phone for a year and then ditch and replace it when the shiny new one comes out.

The offer is compelling: you can pick up the latest, greatest iPhone, with the most storage, for $66.62 monthly, for 12 months and then switch it out and renew the lease, or change directions.

That comes to $800 total for a phone that would cost $1,600 (maxed out iPhone 17 Pro Max) if you bought it outright.

And there’s a question of ownership. You’ll fare much better buying it outright, and re-selling it when it’s upgrade time. Apple iPhones fetch good coin in the resale market. Gazelle, a website that buys used phones directly from consumers, says it would pay $650 for a good condition 16 Pro Max; Itsworthmore, another sales site, is offering $600 for the earlier 15 Pro Max. Buybacktronics touts $1,000 for an iPhone 17 Pro Max with 1 TB of storage.

So obviously, if you lease, you’re leaving money, lots of it, on the table.

But maybe you’re the sort of person who doesn’t get around to selling the old iPhone, and instead just puts it in a drawer. And every fall, like clockwork, when Apple announces the new phone, you feel like you have to have it.

Then the leasing program may be for you.

However, read the fine print:

You better take really good care of your iPhone.

If it comes back in poor condition, you will be dinged. Says Apple: “You may have to pay damage fees, depending on its condition.” If the screen cracks, you’ll need to pay to fix it. Or, you’ll want to purchase Apple Care, which covers cracked screens and drops. This adds $13.99 monthly to the charge. New total: $80.61, or $967.32 for the 12-month term.

So now you’re looking at basically $1,000 lease for a phone that would cost $600 more to buy outright, one that would fetch $800 to $1,000 in the resale market. And if you did own it, you wouldn’t have that nagging worry about keeping the phone in perfect condition.

Do you really need to own?

Devices come in and out of our lives. It’s not like owning a piece of furniture that stays with us forever. I don’t miss my old iPhone 4, 5 or 6. I’m happy to get the newer, shinier, more advanced model. So you could make an argument for renting it, because these devices come and go, and with iCloud and the Apple ecosystem, our contacts, e-mail and iMessages copy over from phone to phone anyway. So what’s the big deal about having to own it anyway—besides the potential resale that would be coming your way?

You have to choose a carrier

To qualify for the deal, you need to sign up with one of the three major carriers, AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile, and work out a new, or updated, rate plan. This could affect what your monthly wireless payment is, along with the Apple charges.

Will Apple really save you money?

Consider this. This week Apple announced its latest quarterly earnings. The company generated $30 billion in profits on $109 billion in sales. And of those sales, $54 billion were from the iPhone. Apple isn’t looking to save you money.

What critics say

Wired: “No, You Probably Shouldn’t Lease Your iPhone.”

Engadget: “Apple Upgrade is a great deal on paper, but make sure you read the fine print.”

PC Mag: “Apple’s ‘Upgrade’ Leasing Plan Feels Like a Trap.”

The Latest on Susie’s iPad

Remember my story about the iPad I bought for a neighbor on June 11th that wouldn’t hold a charge? We returned it to the Apple Store on July 5th, asking for a replacement, but Apple insisted on sending it to the Repair “Depot” to be fixed instead.

And held onto it for 25 days. That’s nearly an entire month. Talk about standing besides your products!

The unit was finally returned this week and there’s nothing remarkable about the story except that I called Apple Support seemingly every day to ask for its whereabouts and got different answers all the time.

This week I was told by one of the reps that we would be compensated for all the troubles.

Punch line: there was no apology letter with the returned iPad, nor a gift card.

Reminder: if you buy from the Apple Store, you get 14 days return; Costco offers 90 days, and B & H Photo offers 30 days.

New Snap Specs

Snap, the company that owns the Snapchat app, is about to see just how eager people are to spend serious dough on fancy AR glasses.

On Sept. 16, it will have an event to tout its new $2,195 glasses, called Specs, as the “first wearable computer,” a device that will play music, take video and photos and put screens in front of your eyes to show walking directions, text messages and the like.

Call me skeptical, but I’m not seeing it.

First of all, Snap has shipped many iterations of AR glasses before, and they’ve all flopped.

Second of all, when Apple launched its AR headset, the Vision Pro two years ago, with a $3,000 price tag, the product tanked.

Thirdly: $2200!

The category has promise. Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses have been a huge hit, but then, they start at $229.

Fourth: I haven’t tried these before, but from the photos, they sure look heavy. When I tried out Apple’s Vision Pro, I couldn’t wait to take it off after 15 minutes. It was too much to stay over my eyes for too long.

What are your thoughts?

SUNDAY: The 4-Part Kentucky Bourbon Trail

We’ve got something special coming up for you Sunday—I brought my iPhones, drone and GoPro to the beautiful Kentucky Bourbon Trail recently to document one of the great American Road Trips. Even if you’re not into bourbon, you;’ll love the scenic views, great small towns and fascinating characters I met along the way. We’re launching the series as a four-parter, and I’ll be live at the YouTube online premiere to chat with you and take your questions as the first episode airs. Time: 9 a.m. PT on http://www.youtube.com/photowalkstv

We had really big waves in Southern California this week. Fun to watch and photograph! (Above shot taken with iPhone 17 Pro Max at 8x telephoto.) How was your week?

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