Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program Offering Pre-Approvals for the iPhone 8

Under Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, customers finance their handset instead of paying a large sum up-front. After making at least 12 payments towards their current iPhone, customers are eligible to upgrade to a new handset. The full cost for the device and AppleCare+ coverage is spread out over 24 months, without any interest.

This year, customers will also be able to take advantage of a Trade-in Kit, which comes with a prepaid shipping label to return their old iPhone to Apple. This is a far cry better than having to take the device into an Apple Store to complete the upgrade process. These kits have been available at least since July, but were not in use during the iPhone 7 launch.

If you want to get pre-approved for an upgrade to the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, you’ll need to act quickly. The window to get your pre-approval ends Thursday, September 14 at 4 p.m. Pacific time.

The way pre-approval for Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program works is this. You open the Apple Store app on your iPhone, choose your preferred model of the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, and then get pre-approved for the upgrade. Then, you return to the Apple Store app when preorders begin.

Apple will start accepting preorders for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on Friday, September 15 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time. Even though the iPhone X is now the flagship handset, shipping estimates for the 8 and 8 Plus models could still become lengthy soon after pre-orders begin. Getting pre-approved helps lock in your order, so it’s a good idea to do it.

If you’re curious how much a new iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus is going to cost, check out Bryan Wolfe’s breakdown of the financing from earlier today.