In 2022, it was reported that Apple was working on a hardware subscription service that would involve paying a monthly fee to become the proud owner of an iPhone. On paper, this business model would have made sense for potentially millions of customers who didn’t have the means to pay upwards of $799 to own the latest and greatest model. Although the possibilities to benefit from this subscription would be almost unlimited, the latest report states that Apple has abandoned its plan to launch this service. According to the latest information, there were various reasons for this cancellation. Therefore, let’s take a closer look.

Other issues, such as software bugs, delayed the hardware subscription service, and with its cancellation, the teams working on Apple’s next launch were now reassigned to other projects

Even before the recent Bloomberg report, Apple was said to have faced numerous problems with the launch of its hardware subscription service, which led to multiple delays. Further updates mention that Apple referred customers to third-party credit offers rather than taking on all the risk themselves. There were various reasons why the company was forced to suspend the service. One of them was related to regulatory concerns coupled with software bugs.

It’s not confirmed when Apple stopped working on the subscription, but it’s likely that the team working on it was disbanded a few months ago and reassigned to other projects. As mentioned above, what the Cupertino company wanted to introduce to the masses could have been groundbreaking, likely attracting millions of potential customers under its umbrella.

After all, the ability to pay the retail price of an unlocked iPhone within 12 or 24 months meant that customers weren’t pressured into spending their hard-earned money in a single purchase. Shortly after the iPhone, Apple could have introduced this hardware subscription service for other products, but apparently the company had other intentions.

News source: Bloomberg