As the cost of memory chips strains the economics of consumer electronics, Apple is reimagining the relationship between ownership and access — launching a lease-to-own subscription service on July 28 that invites customers to hold their devices more lightly, paying monthly rather than outright, with Klarna quietly underwriting the arrangement. The move arrives not as innovation for its own sake, but as a pragmatic response to a supply chain crisis that CEO Tim Cook has called unlike anything in his four decades in the industry. In reshaping how its products are acquired, Apple is also reshapi