Tech

iPhone as a service? Apple could be preparing it

It’s nothing new that tech companies are very attracted to the subscription model, and if it reaches the iPhone we could have a giant leap in this regard. And it is true that in the technological environment, and even more so if we talk about services aimed at individuals. However, if we look at other markets, we can see that it does have a larger presence. The main example is, without a doubt, the motor sector, with more and more brands offering renting as an alternative to buying, a model with advantages and disadvantages, of course, but which is more present every day.

If we talk about technology, hardware as a service or hardware through renting does have some quite interesting proposals, although it is true that regarding the market for individuals, it is much less common. This, yes, does not mean that it is an unprecedented field. Quite the contrary, and for example, when I bought my iPhone 6S Plus, I did it precisely with a leasing plan, in an offer aimed at individuals, which at the end of the two years offered to update the terminal, keep it in property (option for which I opted) or return it.

However, until now all the options in this regard have depended on operators or some distributors who have dared to try it with this mode. This could be close to changing, and it is that Mark Gurman, Apple’s reference leaker, publishes in Bloomberg that in Cupertino they are working on the creation of a leasing plan that would allow users to change the single or financed payment to obtain the iPhone as property, for the leasing modality, which with a monthly fee would include the device, its coverage and the options of this format.

iPhone as a service?  Apple could be preparing it

According to Gurman, the subscription iPhone model, which could also reach other Apple devices, you would also include Apple services in your monthly fee. In this way, with said payment, users would not only have the iPhone (or the MacBook or the device obtained by renting), they would also have iCloud + and, potentially, also Apple Music, Apple TV +, Apple Arcade and the rest of services currently offered by the company.

There are doubts, yes, about whether the service, which is still being discussed, would or would not allow keeping the iPhone at the end of the rental contract. And it is that, according to their sources, there is still no certainty that the project will materialize. Of course, it affirms that if it does, Apple’s plans would be to start the program sometime this year or, at the latest, in 2023. We can understand, yes, that at least in its first phase it would only be available in a few geographies, a bit in the style of what happened with the Apple Card and its more than slow international expansion.

Be that as it may, it seems like an option that could be of interest to many users, especially those who prefer to make a single monthly payment that includes everything related to the iPhone, the car or any consumer good.

What do you think? If you are considering buying an iPhone or another smartphone in the same range, would you consider opting for the leasing model, if it includes not only the smartphone, but also the extra coverage and services of the technology company that produced it? ? Or do you prefer to make a single payment and forget about repayment terms, monthly payments and others?

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