आईसीटी समाचार
According to sources, Apple Inc is working on a subscription service for the iPhone and other hardware devices, a move that could make gadget ownership akin to paying a monthly app charge. The service would be Apple's boldest push towards automatically repeating sales yet, allowing consumers to subscribe to hardware rather than simply digital services for the first time. The proposal, however, is still in the works, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified since the effort has yet to be revealed. After Bloomberg published the news that Apple shares surged to a session high, closing up 2.3 percent at $174.07.
Despite the fact that the stock is still down 2% for the year, Apple has now had eight consecutive days of gains, its longest stretch since November. Adopting hardware subscriptions, similar to an auto-leasing scheme, would be a significant business move for a corporation that has always sold gadgets outright, with some payments or carrier subsidies. It might help Apple earn more income and make spending thousands of dollars on new gadgets more bearable for users. The iPhone is already Apple's most profitable product, garnering about $192 billion in revenue last year – more than half of the company's total income.
The goal is to make purchasing an iPhone or iPad as simple as paying for monthly iCloud storage or an Apple Music subscription. Customers will be able to subscribe to hardware using the same Apple ID and App Store account they already use to buy applications and subscribe to services. The monthly rate would not equal the price of the equipment divided over 12 or 24 months, as it would be with an installment plan. Instead, it would be a yet-to-be-determined monthly cost based on the device selected by the user.
When new hardware is released, the business has proposed allowing program participants to exchange out their gadgets for new versions. Once a year, it launches new versions of its key gadgets, like as the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Apple has been working on a membership program for some months, but the idea was recently shelved in favor of a faster launch of a "buy now, pay later" service. Despite this, the subscription service is still planned to begin around the end of 2022, although it might be pushed back to 2023 or scrapped entirely, according to the sources.
