Apple could begin selling its iPhone and iPad as a part of a subscription where customers will pay a monthly app fee to own their device instead of buying them through the conventional method.

Figure 1: Subscription service for iPhone and iPad.

Figure 1 shows that Apple is reportedly working on a new subscription service through which it will sell the iPhone and other hardware products in what could be the company’s biggest push in subscription-driven sales.

Simply, Apple would sell its iPhone and iPad as a part of a subscription where customers will pay a monthly app fee to own their device instead of buying them through the conventional method.[1]

But the project is still in development, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiative hasn’t been announced.

Adopting hardware subscriptions, akin to an auto-leasing program, would be a major strategy shift for a company that has generally sold devices at full cost outright, sometimes through instalments or with carrier subsidies.

It could help Apple generate more revenue and make it easier for consumers to stomach spending thousands of dollars on new devices.[2]

Apple is planning to enable customers to subscribe to their preferred hardware (that is, iPhones or iPads) with the same Apple ID and App Store account that they use to buy apps and subscribe to various services.

The program would differ in a way that it wouldn’t split the price of the device across 12 or 24 monthly instalments. Instead, it would be based on the fee of the subscription service, which in turn would be based on the device that the user has chosen.

The company is having internal discussions for attaching the hardware subscription service to its AppleCare technical support plans and Apple One bundles that was launched in 2020 and allows users to subscribe to a host of Apple’s services

Its plans of launching the service were put on hold in order to launch the company’s ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ program more quickly. Now, the company is expected to launch the service at the end of 2022 or early in 2023.[3]

References:

1. https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/apple-iphone-subscription-apple-one-bundle-service-1929280-2022-03-25
2. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-24/apple-is-working-on-a-hardware-subscription-service-for-iphones
3. https://www.bgr.in/news/apple-is-planning-to-sell-iphones-ipads-as-a-subscription-service-1250943/

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), A Hardware Subscription Service for Apple Products in Future, Anatechmaz, pp. 94