Apple unveiled a lot at its ‘Far Out’ fall event, from new iPhones to a crazy new Apple Watch designed for extreme sports. Despite all the announcements, there were quite a few things the company didn’t announce — one notable missing item was the company’s long-rumoured hardware subscription.
Apparently, it’s still coming.
According to Bloomberg’s reliable Mark Gurman in the latest Power On newsletter, Apple could launch a hardware subscription as early as this year in a big push to secure automatic, recurring sales:
“The company is indeed still working on a hardware subscription service that will integrate with its Apple One bundles. Apple is actively testing this new service, and I do expect it to launch either later this year or next year.”
That builds on previous information revealed by Bloomberg in March about Apple’s plans for a hardware subscription. Per the details we had before, the subscription will differ from installment programs by charging customers a monthly fee based on the device they choose, and it would allow customers to swap out their phones for new models when Apple releases them.
Moreover, the hardware subscription could tie into Apple’s other subscriptions as part of its Apple One bundle and Apple Care. Those currently exist independently from each other.
Supposedly, Apple chose not to announce the subscription service at the ‘Far Out’ event to “reduce launch day complexity.” Apple is rumoured to have another event in store later in the fall, possible for iPads and Macs. That could be the perfect time to announce an iPhone subscription service heading into the holiday season.
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