Short interest in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) rose nearly 18% in the two-week reporting period ended September 15. Some 92.64 million Apple shares were short, about 1.6% of the company’s float. Days to cover was two, at average daily volume of about 59 million shares traded.

Apple is the sixth most shorted stock on the Nasdaq and in the first two weeks of September, the shares added 2.6%.

Year to date, Apple’s stock is up just over 4%, a nice recovery since mid-August when the shares were down about 6.5%. Since then, of course, the company has launched its latest versions of the iPhone, the 6s and 6s Plus, as well as new version of Apple TV, an updated operating system for the Apple Watch and a new, larger iPad.

The new iPhones have launched a battle among U.S. wireless carriers to see which one can attract more subscribers by charging the least for a new iPhone. T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) kicked things off with a $5 per month lease option on a new iPhone when a customer trades in an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, or $10 a month with a trade-in on the iPhone 5s or certain non-Apple devices.

Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) would not be outdone. It countered with a $1 a month “Forever” lease plan for subscribers who trade in an iPhone 6 and $10 a month for an iPhone 5s trade-in.

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After markets closed on Thursday, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) announced a “Device Payment” option for subscribers who purchase an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus. Under the plan subscribers may “turn in your phone and upgrade to a new iPhone every year.” Subscribers may still choose to keep the phone and pay it off over 24 months.

We have to wonder what Apple thinks about this race to the bottom. On one hand, of course, it doesn’t matter. The company gets paid the same amount by the carriers regardless of what the carriers choose to charge their subscribers. And in a saturated smartphone market like the United States, getting more iPhones into consumers’ hands is a positive for Apple.

On the other hand, does this really add luster to the premium smartphone brand? Could the scramble to attract subscribers somehow cheapen the brand? Maybe not, but it’s worth keeping an eye on this as iPhone 6s phones become available in retail stores Friday.

Short sellers likely took advantage of the enthusiasm surrounding Apple’s new product introduction to add to their short positions. In the past three months, Apple stock is down about 10%, just half as much as it was at its nadir for the same period. Shorts appear to expect that price level again in the not so distant future.

Apple stock closed up about 0.6% on Thursday, at $115.00 in a 52-week range of $92.00 to $134.54. Shares traded up about 1.2% in Friday’s premarket session at $116.40.

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