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Apple Developing Hardware Subscription Service for iPhones and Other Devices
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Not wasteful at all! Apple is full of sh*t as always. Money is all that matters.
I’ve been enrolled in iUP since the X. For me, it’s been awesome. I love the yearly refresh.
I’d immediately opt in for a similar yearly upgrade program for Watch. WUP?
Offering a similar program for MBP would be a little trickier. To keep monthly payments somewhat “reasonable,” I would think the upgrade cycle would move to bi-yearly, as opposed to yearly.
Either way, a hardware upgrade program would certainly be polarizing here: some would love it, most would hate it. Personally, I’m all for the option. From a business pov, it’s a no-brainer for Apple to expand iUP to at least Watch. Possibly beyond.
I’d immediately opt in for a similar yearly upgrade program for Watch. WUP?
Offering a similar program for MBP would be a little trickier. To keep monthly payments somewhat “reasonable,” I would think the upgrade cycle would move to bi-yearly, as opposed to yearly.
Either way, a hardware upgrade program would certainly be polarizing here: some would love it, most would hate it. Personally, I’m all for the option. From a business pov, it’s a no-brainer for Apple to expand iUP to at least Watch. Possibly beyond.
How can this possibly be better than the iPhone Upgrade program?
You pay for the device monthly and can trade in every year or keep it after 2 years.
You pay for the device monthly and can trade in every year or keep it after 2 years.
I don't think it would be feasible for every new model. It would have to be structured based on time, at least I think it would. Maybe something like a new iPhone every 2 years, new iPad every 3, new MacBook every 4....something like that. For it to be for every new model of all devices the price would be insane. I've been ready for this since June 2020!!!!
Volvo has had car "subscriptions" for a year or two now.
Volvo Car USA | Luxury SUVs, Sedans, and Wagons | Official Volvo Website
Welcome to Volvo Car USA. Explore our range of new and pre-owned luxury vehicles. Discover our fully electric, plug-in hybrid, and gas (mild hybrid) cars. Build your new car today.www.volvocars.com
How is that different from a car rental, which has been a thing since forever?
Thought exactly the same.
I’d rather pay more for ownership, the future is going to be unbelievably distopian.
My wife and I own everything outright, people need more self control.
Money might be the only thing that matters to you, but some of us care about productivity and experience. Device performance degrades over time. Software and OS updates result in worse performance over the life of the hardware and eventually support of older devices underminds future development.
It makes good sense to offer a program that allows some people to pay for the depreciation so that others can buy lower-cost devices that have 2 to 4 years of life left in them. I wouldn’t call that wasteful at all.
How do I like a comment more than once?
Thought exactly the same.
I’d rather pay more for ownership, the future is going to be unbelievably distopian.
My wife and I own everything outright, people need more self control.
Think of it more like a car lease, you pay over say 24months and then turn it in for a new one. Or pay a residual and buy it out for cash. The payment would likely not be applied. This is not rent to own. It's a lease model.
Mainly bc it isn't an option, but a forced subscription.
how is this compatible with Apple's ecological goals? are they going to rent iPhones used by 10 people before just with swapped battery?
I went from a 6S to a 13 Pro and the performance of the 6S was pretty dam good still. It was all the other improvements added together that really had the biggest impact.
I still think owning your phone outright then selling it will be a cheaper total cost of ownership, plus you aren’t leasing a phone.
Remember, always, you are not the only person in the world...
In the case of autos, there are apparently tax benefits to renting a car. The same sort if thing may hold (I know nothing about this area of tax law) if you rent your phone and use it for business purposes, or for phones that are purchased (and now will be rented) by organizations.
Along a different dimension, renting provides optionality, whether of the form "I just need this for one month to put together the movie I am creating", or of the form "I can't tell if I want a small phone or a big one, let me try for a month and see".
What exactly is your mental model here?
After three years of rent Apple has, as possibilities:
- throw the phone away OR
- sell them in bulk to some third party who will then sell them cheaply, either via eBay (in the US) or via some local program in India or Indonesia or whatever.
And you imagine that Apple will just naturally choose option (1) rather than the more money-making option (2) because they are Dr Evil in their souls?
So what if you want to purchase the device? Technically speaking you should be able to do this. Otherwise if you'd be paying twice the price. $29 a month or $49 a month preferably. $99 a month makes no sense as by the time a new upgrade comes you'd already paid the price of the device.
It’s enviro-monetarily friendly to Apple’s bottom line. Now, the question is will this count towards the “services” revenue or under “iPhone”?
@turbineseaplane you’ve been warning that this was coming for a while. Sad that it happened though.
the devil's in the details... we'll need to see the User Agreement to know.
A base Mac Studio+Display is about $4500 all in (Apple care, Keys, Trackpad, tax) / 48months (ave user upgrade cycle) = $94/month rental (or lease if you will).
Would you pay $94/month for the use of hardware?
What if they structure it as per hardware cycle? $4500/24month = 188/month?
Would it include a 'rent to own' option? (though probably a bad choice considering the item and use-case.)
More questions:
Pros: devices are no longer user-friendly upgradable, new upgrades with every new cycle, no need to 'out–think' the marketeers with future-proofing your purchase. Maybe able to swap out machines to both up (or down) -grade as needed? It becomes a month utility bill.
Cons: Moving toward a culture where you no longer own anything. A company controls what and how you use their hardware—similar to current digital subscription services and software services. In this scenario, the beginning will be euphoric with enough time it will be despotic. It becomes a month utility bill.
A base Mac Studio+Display is about $4500 all in (Apple care, Keys, Trackpad, tax) / 48months (ave user upgrade cycle) = $94/month rental (or lease if you will).
Would you pay $94/month for the use of hardware?
What if they structure it as per hardware cycle? $4500/24month = 188/month?
Would it include a 'rent to own' option? (though probably a bad choice considering the item and use-case.)
More questions:
- Would we be required to bring your own input devices? (meaning personal-use item wouldn't be rented/returned - like KB, Trackpad, headphones, etc)
- Would there be a need/fee for AppleCare at all, since your renting not owning?
- Would then further limit software compatibility, requiring an upgrade to continue using the service? (forced obsolescence)
These might positively change the pricing structure to $3900/monthly agreement.
Pros: devices are no longer user-friendly upgradable, new upgrades with every new cycle, no need to 'out–think' the marketeers with future-proofing your purchase. Maybe able to swap out machines to both up (or down) -grade as needed? It becomes a month utility bill.
Cons: Moving toward a culture where you no longer own anything. A company controls what and how you use their hardware—similar to current digital subscription services and software services. In this scenario, the beginning will be euphoric with enough time it will be despotic. It becomes a month utility bill.
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I would call the practice you described predatory. But, if the equipment has regular maintenance costs or predictable performance degradation, and you benefit financially by replacing it before it stops working, renting hardware could save money in the long run.
For many people, however, I don’t think it’s a good idea.
I seriously doubt you will get a 1-month term for this garbage. You’ll pay for early termination of a 1-2 year lease.
It's good to see Apple taking a page from Microsoft's Xbox play book. Perhaps they will bundle in Apple services into the hardware subscription just like Microsoft does with Game Pass and their console.
Why does it matter anymore. They glue all their stuff together to make near impossible to repair and have no upgrade path. Apple is a giant E-waste maker now. get 2-3 years and toss it. Renting is probably a smart option now. Better off financially with the cost of their products skyrocketing. They have streamlined everything to such pinpoint low cost production for them, they can start implementing these rental scenarios and still come out being a multi trillion dollar company. I just hope they don't get the adobe lazy attitude. Adobe used to have to refine and add features to their software, or no one would upgrade. ie. work for their money. Now they are just coasting knowing people have no other option but to rent their software, so why bother trying. Thank God for Affinity Software working hard.
I am confused. AT&T and Verizon allow anyone to get a FREE iPhone Pro every three years. So why would I get on the Apple subscription plan that gets me a new iPhone every 2 years? This seems like a really bad deal - like really bad. The same argument applies to renting a Macbook Pro which will last at least 4 years and then can be sold at 30% of the purchase price. For example, a nice MacBook Pro cost to purchase and then sell after 4 years is ~ $2800*0.7/48=$41 month so any subscription plan much above this price is not worth it.