Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims that Apple is preparing a new subscription-based service for iPhones and other Apple products. With this plan, customers will pay a monthly subscription and get a brand new iPhone whenever the manufacturer introduces a new model.
By the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023, the new hardware subscription service should be available. The plan would be different from a typical mobile phone contract in that the hardware cost would not be spread out over a period of 12, 24, or 36 months as is the case with most plans.
The monthly charge for this service will be a fixed amount rather than the phone’s purchase price split by 12, 24, or 36 months, as is the case with the existing instalment plans provided by Apple and carriers. This service is related to a user’s Apple ID account and may include a complimentary membership to Apple One services, which include iTunes, iCloud and iBooks. Apple Fitness+ and iCloud Drive are also included.
Gurman predicts that the new subscription service would debut on iPhones by the end of this year or the beginning of 2023, before expanding to iPads, MacBooks, and the Apple Watch. There’s no word on the pricing yet, although it’s widely expected to be between $20 and $40 every month. Subscription cancellations have yet to have an impact on the corresponding end costs for customers.
For $45 to $55 a month, you can get your pick of a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro along with a variety of Google’s own first-party services, but selling phones as a subscription service is not completely new.
Apple topped the list with the most ever, seven slots, followed by Xiaomi with two and Samsung with one. In 2021, there will be over 4,200 different smartphone models on the market.
Apple dominated the top five models in 2021.
The best-selling model was the iPhone 12, followed by the iPhone 12 Plus, the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 12.
Overall, Apple’s top three models accounted for 41% of the company’s sales.