Tim Cook has revealed during a Q4 earnings call that Apple Card users can have 24-month, interest-free financing on new iPhones through their card. The financing plan is nothing new. Apple has been offering it for a while now via its iPhone Upgrade Program.
Mobile providers have similar financing options. What makes it different for Apple Card users is the three-percent cashback on the purchase. That and the conveniences mentioned before. When combined with the upgrade program’s free Apple Care+ and iPhone trade-in value, it beats financing through a carrier.
Apple CFO Luca Maestri mentioned that the company has seen a positive response to the current program. Trade-ins for iPhones are up 400 percent over last year, which means a lot of people are opting to have a running bill with Apple. These are the people that the company is targeting with the new offer.
It is unclear exactly when Cupertino plans on implementing the new Apple Card perk. Tim Cook vaguely mentioned “later this year.” As we are heading into November, my bet would be we see it before Black Friday. At least that is what I would do to take advantage of the holiday shopping spree.
It’s a bonus for people with an Apple Card, and might help Apple entice people to upgrade their phones more often than they might otherwise while cutting out the middleman. As with its services like Apple Music, TV+ and Arcade, it seems Apple is trying to reframe iPhone financing and upgrades as a monthly expense, and not necessarily a large, one-time hit to wallets.
