Apple has been quietly building out its subscription service for some time, and it appears that there could be more than one offering available on day one of an iPhone sale. Perhaps even two or three different versions with different pricing tiers for each tier of the subscription service itself, which would be pretty similar to what Amazon offers in its Kindle Unlimited program. But with Apple decides on what content goes into the service (the Amazon version is open-ended). It’s also worth noting that we haven’t heard anything about an Apple TV subscription service yet, so maybe this isn’t going to happen. The Cupertino giant is said to be preparing an “All Access” membership program that will allow customers to buy Apple devices.
Including the new MacBook Pro and Air models with Touch ID fingerprint sensor as well as the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4, at a monthly fee that would be cheaper than purchasing all of those products individually or leasing them from an authorized dealer. According to The New York Times’ sources within the supply chain, Apple has long been interested in selling more devices through subscriptions and is now focusing on creating the right product mix for its future business model. Apple plans to charge $10 per month for users of its mobile devices. While also offering access to third-party apps such as Spotify or Netflix as part of the service, an exact timeline has yet to be determined by the company’s executives.
If Apple can get consumers used to paying monthly fees to use their devices, it could significantly change the way people buy consumer electronics, and potentially upend the way many tech companies sell their wares. The news was first reported by Re/code, which cited sources familiar with the matter and said Apple has been testing a new service with carrier partners. This Service would give customers access to select iPhones at discounted prices when they buy data plans from their wireless carriers. Similar to how cable companies such as AT&T offer discounted monthly rates for satellite TV services. Something similar to Verizon offers discounts for customers who subscribe to its mobile phone service under the same program known as “Share Everything Plan 2”.
If true, this would mark Apple’s latest foray into selling products on a subscription basis, following last year’s release of iCloud storage and the upcoming launch of the Apple Music streaming service. The report cites people familiar with the event who asserted that Apple will start selling subscriptions to its iOS devices. The service will offer users an option at the point of purchase to pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to apps on their iPhone or iPad instead of buying each one individually through the App Store as they do now. Not only for their new device but also for any older device(s) they may have already owned before purchasing the new one from Apple. According to the report, Apple has begun working with developers and suppliers on building hardware and software components for the service and plans to launch it sometime in near future.
An Apple subscription service for iPhones and iPads might seem like a bad idea at first glance. But if done right it could be very useful for both consumers and developers alike, and even more so than any other alternative on the market today. If you think about the services like Netflix or Spotify, they all offer the same product with different prices depending on how much content you want to consume at any given moment. Apple could even offer multiple tiers of service: one with high-end specs and a lower monthly rate plus free upgrades on every phone. While another offers a slightly less premium experience at a higher cost. In the case of Apple Watch and HomePod, the company said it will offer a subscription plan for those products as well “in the coming weeks”.
Without providing further details on its pricing strategy for these two gadgets either in time for their release or afterward if they get any upgrades at all down the line (that’s just speculation on my part). It’s not clear how much more money Apple will make from this move than what it has made from selling devices at discounted prices. As per the reports of Bloomberg, It is observed that the rental charges of the Apple devices would be equal to the installments in which the buyer needs to pay the exact price in a certain month or year. On the other hand, the subscription will come with various benefits. It will allow the subscribers to upgrade their devices to new ones without paying hefty money. However, the exact subscription amount hasn’t been revealed by apple. Though the company has never been shy about its desire to keep customers happy by keeping the prices of their devices low and affordable.
There’s a good chance that such a scenario will come into play sooner rather than later. This is what the report said could be the nature of the subscription, but nothing is officially confirmed. This approach to an iPhone service plan sounds a lot like a cloud computing-based strategy for Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Microsoft Office applications which have been in development since at least 2007. The about to be launched service of apple will be connected with the apple id of the user. The subscription will be close to the other subscription approach. It has been speculated that the subscription of the device will also include AppleCare and Apple One Services. Maybe Apple has plans to offer other types of service packages that will only work when used on a specific type of hardware. This would make sense as it is currently impossible for people who have bought iPhones in the past to keep using their phones and access all of their apps unless they purchase each one separately.
