Is the Surface Plus Upgrade Program Worth it?

Want to upgrade to the latest Surface device as it comes out? Microsoft's new Surface Plus plan acts sort of like a plan you might expect from a phone carrier, letting you pay off your machine over 24 months and trading in every 18 months.

The payment plans offers 0 percent APR for the first two years and 19.99 percent if you exceed that time period. The trade-ins are conditional on returning the device in good condition. The program includes the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop and Surface Book. The Surface Studio desktop is not listed among the payment plans.

As long as you keep your payments in on time and want to upgrade, you'll be paying off approximately 75 percent of the device before turning it in for the next one. That's a good deal if you always planned on getting the next big thing, but you'll pay more than you would if you paid upfront, held onto a machine for a few years and updated later.

Surface Plus also offers a free year of support in Microsoft's stores.

So far, the Surface Pro line of devices has seen regular updates, though the Surface Book's was more minimal, bumping up to a model with its Performance Base. It's way too early for the new Surface Laptop to receive a major refresh anytime soon. Hopefully, the Surface Plus plan will inspire a more regular upgrade cadence among Microsoft's devices.

We've seen plans like this before for phones, like Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program, but never before for computers. We're curious to see how it shakes out.

Image composite credit: Microsoft, Laptop Mag