Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is readying a new way to purchase iPhones and other Apple hardware with a new-subscription-based model. Users will pay a fixed fee each month and will get an iPhone of their choice with free upgrades as and when new models are announced.
This service will be different from the current installment plans offered by Apple and carriers as there would be a set fee paid every month and not the cost of the phone divided by time durations such as 12, 24, or 36 months in installments.
The iPhone subscription service will be tied to the existing Apple ID accounts of users and the company could also bundle free Apple Care and even Apple One services which include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Apple News+, and other related services.
Mark Gurman states that the service will begin by the end of 2022 or early 2023 with iPhone only and will eventually extend to the remainder of Apple’s product lineup including iPads, MacBooks, and Apple Watch also.
There has not been a price set as of yet with speculations ranging from $20 to $40 per month (1,500-3,000 INR). We have to see how the cancellations of subscriptions will also affect the end costs for users.
Selling phones on a subscription-based model is not entirely new as Google already operates its Pixel Pass program in the USA which allows you to choose between a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro bundled with Google’s own first-party services for a nominal fee ranging from $45-$55 (3,400-4,190 INR) per month.
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