Apple is about to launch its new generation of iPhones and, although rumors about the price of the iPhone 18 Pro Max point to a possible increase of between $100 and $200 compared to its predecessor, there is a strong reason to think that this will be one of the easiest top-of-the-range models to get in a long time. The key is not in the sticker price, but in how Apple has reinvented the way you pay for your devices with its new leasing scheme.
The Apple Upgrade program changes the rules of the game
Apple has just replaced its classic iPhone Upgrade Program with Apple Upgrade, a system supported by Klarna that allows you to access a new iPhone through extremely low monthly payments, with plans starting at $17.99 per month.
Under this modality, the user can rent the phone for 12 or 24 months and, at the end of the contract, can keep the device by paying the difference, exchange it for a new model or simply return it.
It is a scheme designed so that people stop thinking about the “total price” of the iPhone and start thinking only about the monthly fee, something that completely changes the perception of how expensive a top of the range can be.
How much the iPhone 17 Pro Max costs today (and what that could mean for the 18)
With current prices under Apple Upgrade, the 2TB version of the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a monthly cost of $58.34, while the base version of the iPhone 17 starts at just $22.99 per month according to Apple's official tables.
If Apple maintains this same pricing structure for the next generation, something quite likely given that the company usually maintains its financing ranges year after year, accessing the most powerful version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max could cost less than $60 per month in its version with the highest storage.
That figure turns a $1,000 phone into something that feels almost like a premium streaming subscription, and that's just what Apple is looking to achieve with this shift in strategy.
The trade-in could make the final price even lower
Best of all, this monthly amount is not fixed, because Apple's trade-in program can reduce it considerably. If the user delivers a used iPhone in good condition, for example an iPhone 16 Pro Max, they could receive up to $695 in credit that is directly applied to lower the monthly payment for the new device.
This means that someone who today has a recent model and decides to join Apple's constant update cycle could end up paying a fraction of those $60 per month for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, without needing to shell out a large amount of money at once.
All this occurs just when rumors about the list price of the iPhone 18 Pro and its older brother do not stop generating noise, with estimates ranging from $1,199 to more alarming figures that exceed $1,600 due to the increase in the cost of components such as the A20 Pro chip and RAM.
But while that discussion remains open, Apple's real play seems to be elsewhere, and that is that thanks to schemes like Apple Upgrade and trade-in, the cover price matters less and less. What really decides whether you buy or not buy is how much you are going to pay each month, and that is where the iPhone 18 Pro Max could become irresistible for many users who have been waiting for years for the perfect moment to make the jump to the top of the range.
