Is It Better to Buy or Rent an Official Apple iPhone for Rp578 Thousand Per Month?

Apple has launched a new programme allowing customers in the United States to rent an iPhone for up to two years through the Apple Upgrade scheme. The programme is the result of a partnership between Apple and Klarna, a buy now, pay later service provider.

Apple will offer the scheme at both its physical and official online stores. The rental prices offered vary considerably, depending on the specifications and model of the iPhone itself.

For an unlocked iPhone 17 Pro, for instance, the rental fee is set at US$31.99 (around Rp578,000) per month on a 24-month contract.

Calculated over the two-year contract period, the total cost paid by the customer reaches US$767.76, or around Rp13.9 million.

So how does this compare with buying the iPhone outright?

According to Apple’s official website, the 256 GB iPhone 17 Pro is currently sold at US$1,099 (around Rp19.8 million).

This means the iPhone 17 Pro rental scheme is about US$332 (around Rp6 million) cheaper than the purchase price of an iPhone 17 Pro with the same capacity.

However, it should be noted that there is a fundamental difference between the two schemes. Under the Apple Upgrade programme, users do not immediately own the device. Once the 24-month contract ends, the iPhone must be returned to Apple, or the customer may redeem it with an additional payment.

By contrast, purchasing the device makes the consumer the outright owner, meaning the iPhone can continue to be used, resold, or traded in at a later date.

Therefore, in terms of total money spent over two years, Apple’s rental scheme in the US is indeed cheaper. However, from an ownership perspective, buying an iPhone offers different value, as the device belongs entirely to the user.

Another option is to continue the subscription in order to use the latest iPhone model. Rather than owning an iPhone, users can keep renting, effectively subscribing to an iPhone on a monthly basis.