Code found in a test version of Apple's upcoming iPhone software, iOS 27, describes a feature called "Restricted Mode" that would let Apple limit what a leased iPhone can do if someone misses a payment. The phone would be stripped down to just three apps: Phone, Settings, and the App Store. The user would also be blocked from erasing the phone, reselling it, or taking it apart for components. The code was discovered by 9to5Mac on July 21, 2026.

One day later, Bloomberg reported that Apple is preparing to launch a device-leasing program called "Upgrade" with the financing company Klarna. The planned launch date is July 28, 2026. Neither Apple nor Klarna has officially announced the program. The Verge, publishing on July 22, corroborated both reports. Apple did not immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment.

Put together, the two reports suggest Apple is building tools into its own software for a financing program it has not yet publicly announced.

9to5Mac's report identified a new system called "App Managed Features." It works like a background checker: a financing app can continually verify whether a leased device is still in good standing. When it is not, Restricted Mode turns on, removing access to nearly all apps except Phone, Settings, and the App Store. The Mac Observer and Macworld, both publishing July 22, reported finding the same code.

A separate component, called "Partner Finance Lock," is designed to stop users from erasing the device, reselling it, or stripping it for parts. It sits inside Apple's Find My system but reportedly does not give financing partners access to the device's location. That matters because it keeps the finance partner's reach limited to checking whether payments are current, rather than tracking where the user goes.

The Upgrade program, as reported by Bloomberg and attributed to unnamed sources, would cover most iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch models.

Apple's own Xcode 27 Beta 4 release notes on developer.apple.com contain no mention of Restricted Mode or any financing features. That fits with how Apple typically handles unreleased features: the code shows up in test builds before the company says anything publicly.

The broader context here is that Apple already runs an iPhone Upgrade Program in the United States, but that program works as an installment loan through phone carriers. If someone stops paying, the carrier can block the phone from connecting to its network. The new program with Klarna looks like a wider leasing model that could cover multiple types of devices and possibly multiple countries. Restricted Mode would give Apple and Klarna a way to enforce payments directly through the phone's own software, which is something the current installment-loan approach has never needed.

Worth flagging is the precedent of Activation Lock, a feature Apple introduced in 2013 with iOS 7. Activation Lock made stolen iPhones unusable without the owner's Apple ID, which sharply reduced iPhone theft. Restricted Mode uses a similar idea for a different purpose: not stopping theft, but enforcing a lease. The details differ, but the principle is the same: using built-in software locks to change the economics of who controls a device.

Several things are still unknown. The code was found in a test version of iOS 27 and could be changed or removed before the software is officially released. The relationship between the July 28 reported launch date and the iOS 27 release timeline is unclear. If Restricted Mode requires iOS 27 and iOS 27 has not been released by late July, the financing program could launch before the lock feature is available to everyone. Apple could also limit the initial rollout to devices already running iOS 27, or turn on enforcement gradually after launch.

The privacy questions are real but limited by what the code currently describes. A financing app that can continually check whether a device is in good standing, even without seeing location data, is still a permanent third-party process on a personal phone with the power to shut down core features. How Apple explains that to customers at the point of sale will matter as much as how the technology works.

For anyone watching Apple's platform, the "App Managed Features" system is the piece to follow. If it ships in iOS 27, it creates a new category of built-in control that is different from both the tools businesses use to manage employee phones and the Activation Lock anti-theft system. Apple has not documented it. The test code is the only source, and test versions are provisional. But the combination of a new financing program reported by Bloomberg and enforcement code found by 9to5Mac, Macworld, and The Mac Observer suggests the pieces are being lined up for a coordinated launch.