Apple is reportedly working on hardware subscriptions for its devices, including the iPhone. Unlike installment plans, which Apple’s offered since 2015, the subscription would be more like a lease program with the option to upgrade devices periodically.
Adam Levy for The Motley Fool:
An iPhone subscription service could provide a great complement to Apple’s existing subscription services with significant potential to bundle the service and lock customers into the Apple ecosystem.
Two-thirds of iPhone owners already subscribe to iCloud in some form, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Half of iPhone users have an Apple Music subscription, and one-third have an Apple TV+ subscription.
Adding an iPhone subscription to the [Apple One] bundle could make perfect sense. Apple could offer significant savings to its most loyal customers — those who upgrade their iPhone extremely frequently. It could also make it easier for customers to afford the chance to use the most recent iPhone.
Instead of breaking up the cost of an iPhone into simple installments, Apple can instead charge customers close to the depreciation rate on a new iPhone over the course of the first year plus its cost to insure the device. That would theoretically be less than the installment cost of an iPhone purchase with the potential for more frequent trade-ins. The downside is the customer never actually owns the device. On the other hand, about one-third of iPhone purchasers trade in their old device when purchasing a new one.
MacDailyNews Take: Many Mac, iPhone, and iPad users would flock to this subscription services if Apple does indeed offer it – especially those who like to stay current on Apple’s latest and greatest devices. It would allow Apple to sell to most price-sensitive customers while generating even greater loyalty to the company’s products.
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