Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman writes that Apple is working on a new method of purchasing iPhones as well as other Apple hardware through a subscription-based service. The idea is that customers will pay a fixed cost per month, and will receive an iPhone that they like with no cost upgrades when new models are released.
The service will differ than the installment plan currently provided by Apple and other carriers since it will be a predetermined cost per month, and not the price of the phone , which is divided by 12 or 36 months as with the installments. This iPhone subscription will be linked to already existing Apple ID accounts and may include the free Apple Care and even Apple One services that comprise Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Apple News+ along with Apple Fitness+.
Gurman further says the subscription service to launch at the end of the year or in the early part of 2023, with iPhones and then eventually expand to the rest of the Apple hardware lineup such as iPads MacBooks as well as Apple Watch Bands. There was no specific price mentioned as of yet, with speculations ranging between $20 and 40 dollars per month. It is yet to be determined what effect cancellations of subscriptions have on the cost of subscriptions for customers.
Offering phones on a subscription service is not a completely new concept since Google already has the Pixel Pass program in the US that lets users select between a Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro that comes with Google’s own services at prices ranging from $45-$55 per month.
