Apple Might Let You Upgrade to the Latest iPhones, iPads, and Much More with a Hardware ‘Subscription’ Model

Your Apple One plan could soon include a new iPhone or iPad every year, according to a report that suggests Apple is looking at ways to include hardware in its subscription bundles.

Although Apple has already offered an iPhone Upgrade Program since 2016, it appears that the company intends to take a big step beyond that to encompass a wider array of hardware products and possibly even tie it into its other services offerings.

While the details aren’t clear yet, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has been told by his sources that Apple is aiming to “make device ownership similar to paying a monthly app fee.”

The service would be Apple’s biggest push yet into automatically recurring sales, allowing users to subscribe to hardware for the first time — rather than just digital services. But the project is still in development, said the people, who asked not to identified because the initiative hasn’t been announced.Mark Gurman

Describing it as “a major shift for Apple,” Gurman shared in a Tweet that the new subscription service could launch as soon as next year and “tie into Apple One bundles and AppleCare.”

What Would Apple Hardware Subscriptions Look Like?

It’s hard to say precisely how this would differ from Apple’s current financing programs. In addition to the iPhone Upgrade Program, Apple Card holders in the U.S. can also finance just about any hardware purchase via interest-free monthly installments.

Of course, one-time financing isn’t nearly the same as a subscription plan, which would presumably supply new devices regularly.

Similarly, while the iPhone Upgrade Program is designed to provide a new iPhone every year, it’s not entirely automatic. Customers can initiate the upgrade process on their own once they’ve made at least 12 payments, but they don’t have to. Instead, they can just continue paying for another 12 months and keep the iPhone they already have.

In other words, the iPhone Upgrade Program is still basically just a perpetual financing program.

A “subscription” suggests that members would automatically receive a new iPhone every year with minimal effort. It’s almost certain that subscribers would need to return their old iPhone to receive a new one, but Apple would surely find a way to streamline the process, avoiding the past headaches that have beset the iPhone Upgrade Program.

It’s also possible the monthly fees could be lower since subscribers wouldn’t be financing the total value of the device. It sounds like this could be more akin to traditional leasing, where customers would have to either buy out or return the iPhone if they chose to cancel.

The program would differ from an installment program in that the monthly charge wouldn’t be the price of the device split across 12 or 24 months. Rather, it would be a yet-to-be-determined monthly fee that depends on which device the user chooses.Mark Gurman

This wouldn’t be unlike the plans that some carriers have begun offering. In Canada, for instance, “device return option” plans have become more common, where customers pay for a new iPhone in the same way as a car lease. Lower monthly payments cover only the depreciation over two years, with the option to either buy the iPhone out or return it at the end of the lease.

According to Gurman’s sources, Apple’s hardware subscriptions would go beyond the iPhone. This would likely include other significant products like the iPad but could also encompass accessories such as the AirPods, Apple Pencil, and Magic Keyboard. Tying this into an Apple One bundle that includes AppleCare+ could become an attractive option for Apple fans who upgrade their devices regularly anyway.

For example, Apple could offer a higher-tier Apple One Bundle that includes all the same services as the Premier tier, plus a new iPhone and even a set of AirPods every year. A higher-level monthly price could provide an iPhone Pro and AirPods Pro instead.

Apple reportedly aims to launch the new service later this year, although it could be delayed into 2023.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]