Overview
- Apple launched its Apple Upgrade leasing program on July 28 and the new service does not include the proposed “white‑glove” option to ship devices already restored from a customer’s iCloud backup.
- Reporting by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed Apple once planned to have replacement iPhones arrive ready to use with apps, settings, and data restored from iCloud.
- Apple engineers concluded the feature was technically possible, including using in‑store tooling such as Presto to automate restores, but they worried the optics of Apple holding and transmitting personal backups would alarm customers.
- Advanced Data Protection, Apple’s end‑to‑end iCloud encryption, would block Apple from accessing some users’ backups and so the service would have had to differ for encrypted and unencrypted accounts, creating inconsistent customer experiences.
- Apple may revisit the idea if it can reconcile privacy, encryption and logistics, but for now customers must restore devices themselves and Apple Upgrade proceeds as a lease program that replaces the previous upgrade plans.