4 Of The Most Popular Tech Products You Can Lease

Buying new tech can get expensive quickly, especially for devices we use daily, like smartphones, which can cost upwards of $1,000 for the latest flagships. Prices for these devices are only expected to keep rising as we deal with the ramifications of AI data centers eating up all our RAM. But you don't always have to drop the full price on a new piece of tech. Many of the most popular tech products can be leased instead of purchased outright. This lets you cut down on the amount of money you have to put down up front, but it comes with the consequence of never actually owning the device you're using.

Leasing has benefits, especially with flagship smartphones, which you'll likely upgrade every few years anyway. And while it sounds good on paper, there are some very real costs to leasing tech that you should be aware of. Still, it can make sense for a lot of people, especially if you have no interest in collecting the items you use and want to upgrade more often (in most cases).

If you are interested in leasing your tech products, your options will vary depending on the type of device you're trying to pick up and where you are located in the world. From gaming consoles to smart TVs and, of course, the aforementioned smartphones, here are several popular tech products you can lease right now, as well as some information on how those leases work.

Leasing smartphones isn't exactly new. Carriers have offered lease-to-own programs for years now. This allows customers to pay off their smartphone in increments over the course of several months, with the option to pay it off or trade it in at the end of their upgrade cycle. More recently, we have seen smartphone manufacturers like Apple take a more front-and-center approach to leasing. Apple's new leasing program does exactly that by offering users a way to get their hands on the latest iPhones (and other Apple devices) by signing up for a 12- or 24-month lease that runs through Klarna, at least at the time of this article's writing.

These systems work by having you pay an agreed-upon price each month for the device. At the end of the period, you have an option to either buy it out or trade it back in to pick up the next device in the lineup. It's a solid way to get your hands on the latest flagship devices, especially if you don't want to hold on to your older devices for any reason. It ensures that you never have old tech just sitting around collecting dust or ending up in your garbage can.

iPhones aren't the only smartphones with leasing options either. You can lease Samsung and Google devices from various outlets, too, though neither manufacturer offers direct leasing options. Depending on where you are in the world, your leasing options can vary.

Over the past two to three years, we've seen tech product prices rise, especially in the last year as AI data centers have continued to expand and eat up much of the available manufacturing capacity for consumer-grade RAM. This has driven up prices for gaming consoles like the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series S. But if you want the latest gaming console, you don't necessarily have to pay full price outright. Leasing options vary by region, but there aren't nearly as many as you might find for smartphones or even gaming PCs. Sony offers its Flex program for users in the UK, which allows them to purchase a PlayStation device on a rolling 12-, 24-, or 36-month lease. At the end, you can upgrade to the next device, keep paying for the device, or return it.

Of course, these kinds of leasing programs aren't available everywhere, and you may still end up having to spend a bit more money up front if you decide to go with a similar rent-to-own option in your region. It is also worth noting that rent-to-own isn't the same as a lease. However, we included it here because it technically includes a lease, at least temporarily, for the term of the rent-to-own contract, and those contracts will often (but not always) allow you to return the product instead of purchasing it outright.

Smart TVs are another product, like gaming consoles, that you may be able to lease or at least rent-to-own. Again, the options available to you are going to vary greatly depending on where you are, but there are companies like Rent-A-Center that offer options to lease some of the best smart TVs from companies like Samsung. You essentially are given the option to complete the payments that are required to acquire ownership of the device, or you can even use an eligible early purchase option or cancel and return the television completely to stop the lease.

The exact terms of your agreement will vary, and that's something that you'll need to take into account whenever you set up this purchase. If you want to buy a smart TV without paying upfront, rent-to-own and returning it before you pay it off can be an option. Just make sure the rent-to-own contract allows that.

Like gaming consoles, getting your hands on a laptop or a great gaming PC with the option to lease will vary depending on where you are in the world and what type of computer you want. For the most part, you're going to be relying on rent-to-own situations with laptops and some other PCs. However, some gaming PC companies, like NZXT, do offer their own leasing programs.

The NZXT Flex program, for example, lets you rent a gaming PC with week-to-week flexibility, according to the website's terms. NZXT says that users can move up or down if they need more power or want to save. That does require a one-time fee, but then you ship back the old PC, and NZXT ships you a new one. The company also says there is no commitment, so while you are technically leasing, you're not locked into a contract and can cancel at any time.

NZXT Flex is more of a subscription than a traditional lease. However, it is an option if you're looking to get your hands on a gaming PC. It is important to be aware that the fees for this are a bit more expensive for a high-end gaming PC that is rated for 4K gaming. You're looking at a couple hundred dollars a month. If you want to go with another PC brand, you can look into lease-to-own options from other companies, though these often run through third-party financial partners like Katapult or Klarna.