This is exactly what’s going on here.

You literally don’t own the hardware, it’s a lease.

That said, you can purchase with financing with an Apple Card, or with numerous other financing options like carrier financing. However, leasing allows the purchase prices of phones to continue climbing while still presenting a palatable monthly payment.

I think what’s going to happen with this is a lot of people will be lured in with low payments and then be surprised with the ending “keep your phone” payment, where it will feel like it makes more sense to just get the new phone and continue the same payments.

Paying a $400 payment on a 2 year iPhone will look insane as that’s the depreciated value of a 2 year old phone.

>Paying a $400 payment on a 2 year iPhone will look insane as that’s the depreciated value of a 2 year old phone.

Check ebay. That's around the price of a pro series iPhone 2 years old.

Or, they can still pay the $400 and try to resell it for higher. And then buy a cheaper Android when they finally realise being in debt for making a fashion statement is stupid.