While developing the new Apple Upgrade program, Apple also considered a different delivery method that could significantly shorten the device replacement process for customers. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company worked on sending renewed iPhones to the customer with an iCloud backup pre-installed and ready for use at the end of the rental period. In this way, the user would not have to deal with a long data transfer or restoring from backup process after taking his new phone out of the box. However, Apple did not include this idea, which was brought up within the company years ago, in the released version of Apple Upgrade. According to Gurman, the decision behind the decision is due to questions about privacy rather than technical limitations.
Apple Upgrade launched in the US on July 28, replacing the company’s previously offered iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments options. The program allows customers to rent an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch for a certain period of time rather than purchasing it outright or taking advantage of traditional installment options. While 12 or 24-month rental periods are offered for iPhone and Apple Watch, there are 24 or 36-month options for Mac and iPad. When the period is completed, the user can return the device to Apple, pay the remaining amount and become the owner of the device, or switch to a new rental agreement and switch to a more up-to-date model. This structure creates a different alternative to the purchasing process, especially for customers who renew their devices at regular intervals.
iPhone with pre-installed iCloud backup considered for Apple Upgrade
According to the information provided by Gurman in the Power On newsletter, while the foundations of Apple Upgrade were being discussed years ago, a more comprehensive service model for the program came to the fore. In the system evaluated by the company, personal data would be available on the phone when the customer’s new device arrived at their door. For this, the user’s iCloud backup was planned to be restored to the new iPhone before the device was shipped. Therefore, applications, settings and other user data that can be transferred via iCloud would be prepared before the device is turned on for the first time. Apple Upgrade, which Apple launched in July, does not offer such a service, and device installation continues to be the responsibility of the user with current methods.
Switching to a new iPhone can take time, despite the transfer tools Apple has developed in recent years. While the Quick Start feature allows direct data transfer between the old and new iPhone, iCloud backups allow the device to be restored over the internet. However, it may take a long time for the phone to be fully ready due to the amount of data to be transferred, the speed of the internet connection and the applications that need to be re-downloaded. The delivery system Apple evaluated aimed to complete at least some of these transactions before the user receives the device. Especially for Apple Upgrade customers who change phones every year or two, this approach could make device replacement require less work.
However, the side of the system that facilitates the user experience also brings with it the most obvious problem. Preparing an iPhone with personal account information before it reaches its owner may raise questions about in what medium and with what authorization mechanism the data is transferred to the device. Processing users’ photos, messages, app data, and other personal information before delivery would require a sensitive process given Apple’s current approach to privacy. Gurman states that technical obstacles were not the determining factor in Apple’s failure to implement this feature. Instead, he states that the company may have avoided the perception that customers’ personal data may have been accessed before the device reached them.
Apple’s current device installation system largely keeps the user in control of transferring personal data to the new phone. After receiving the new iPhone, the user can transfer directly from their old device or restore the iCloud backup after logging in with their Apple account. Although this method requires more time than the ready-made delivery idea, it ensures that the data transfer process begins under the supervision of the user. The pre-installation service considered within the scope of Apple Upgrade could provide significant convenience, especially for those who change devices frequently, but in return, new security and privacy processes would emerge that would need to be explained. The model Apple ultimately chose preserves existing installation and data transfer methods rather than a faster device replacement.
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