Apple is working on a subscription service for iPhones and other devices
Apple is working on a plan that will allow customers to lease, rather than buy, iPhones (and other devices). The Apple subscription should be available at the end of this year.
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Bloomberg: Apple device subscription coming
Bloomberg writes about this new subscription service from Apple. The usually reliable journalist Mark Gurman broke the news. He relies on conversations with anonymous sources who are close to the fire.
According to these people, Apple is secretly working on a new revenue model. Thanks to the arrival of the new hardware subscription, purchasing an iPhone, iPad, Mac(Book) or set of AirPods should become as easy as buying apps. Apple itself declined to comment.
How expensive will the iPhone subscription be?
Entirely in tradition, the company will design the Apple subscription in a unique way, according to Gurman. The company (unlike providers) will not work with traditional contract terms of 12 or 24 months, whereby the purchase price of a device is spread over this period.
The monthly amount will depend on the device that the customer chooses. Specific amounts are not mentioned, but it is expected that newer devices, such as the iPhone 13, will cost more than a slightly older model like the iPhone 11.
According to Bloomberg, Apple has been working on the new formula for months. If everything goes according to plan, the ‘iPhone subscription’ will be rolled out at the end of this year. It is not known whether the lease construction will then be available worldwide or only in specific markets.
We do know that the Apple subscription service is linked to the Apple ID of customers. For example, you currently already need this personal Apple account to take out a subscription to services, such as Apple TV Plus.
Apple bets on subscription and services
Services are becoming increasingly important to Apple. In recent years, for example, the company has already introduced Apple One, a bundling of several services. With this package you get access to extra iCloud storage, Apple Arcade and Apple Music for a lower amount.
However, devices are still very important to the business. The sale of iPhones accounted for more than half of the turnover in the past financial year. The share of services is currently about 20 percent.
