Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

iphone 16 apple intelligence
Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain access to a device for the subscription period.

The subscription-based ‌iPhone‌ offering would make it easier for customers without the funds for an expensive ‌iPhone‌ to make monthly payments rather than purchasing upfront. Apple already has the ‌iPhone‌ Upgrade Program that splits the cost of a device across a 12 or 24 month period, but the planned subscription service would have been an ongoing monthly fee rather than payments over a set number of months.

After two years of work on the project, Apple apparently ceased development in recent months due to regulatory concerns, software bugs, and other issues. The team that was developing the subscription service was disbanded and reassigned to other projects. Apple has done some streamlining of its payment offerings this year, shutting down the Apple Pay Later pay-in-installments option that was available for less than a year.

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Top Rated Comments

SanderEvers Avatar
14 weeks ago
Very good "you'll own nothing and be happy" really is not something I want in any future.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iZac Avatar
14 weeks ago
you mean ... this?

https://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StuBeck Avatar
14 weeks ago
What software bugs would a subscription service like this have?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sahajesh Avatar
14 weeks ago
MacRumors - where all the people who think “It’s not for me, so nobody should have it” go.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mrkevinfinnerty Avatar
14 weeks ago
Nobody:

Apple: Here's an identical financing plan to allow you to pay for the identical iPhone we just announced in convenient installments




Attachment Image
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ApostolisApo Avatar
14 weeks ago
I bet the "regulatory concerns" were the biggest factor of them all
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)