Apple Dropped Plan to Ship Leased iPhones Already Set Up for Users

Apple considered a so-called "white-glove" element for its Apple Upgrade leasing program that would have delivered each new replacement device already loaded with the customer's data, but the idea never made it out of planning, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple Upgrade launched in the U.S. on July 28, replacing the iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments. The plan lets customers lease an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch rather than buy one outright or pay in installments. iPhone and Apple Watch leases run 12 or 24 months, while Mac and iPad terms are 24 or 36 months. At the end of a term, customers return the device, pay off the balance and keep it, or trade up to a new lease. In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reports that when the concept was first discussed years ago, Apple also weighed the idea of having each year's device arrive at the customer's door ready to use, restored from their iCloud backup before it shipped. The version of Apple Upgrade that w