Gurman: Apple iPhone hardware subscription plan postponed due to "engineering and technical obstacles"
CTOnews.com, February 12 (Xinhua)-- as Apple prepares to launch its Apple Pay Later pay-as-you-go service, the company continues to develop iPhone hardware subscriptions.
However, just like Apple Pay Later, the iPhone hardware subscription service has also been plagued by project delays, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
In the latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman explains that Apple currently has four fintech projects under way. Two of them are Apple Card Savings Account savings accounts and Apple Pay Later, which have been publicly announced.
The other two items that have not yet been announced are Apple Pay Monthly Installments monthly installments and iPhone hardware subscription plans.
Gurman said the iPhone subscription program was originally scheduled to be launched with the iPhone 13 series in 2021 or with the iPhone 14 series in 2022. However, like other Apple fintech projects, it has "encountered engineering and technical obstacles, resulting in slow progress and missed deadlines". Nonetheless, the project is still going on within Apple and has not been cancelled.
As previously reported by CTOnews.com, iPhone hardware subscription program means that users pay a certain monthly fee, can directly use iPhone and iPad hardware, and can constantly upgrade to the latest models. However, the monthly subscription fee will not be the installment price of the equipment, but will be "an undetermined monthly fee, depending on the device selected by the user".
Bloomberg explained that Apple's fintech services are based on an underlying platform created by Apple and called it "one of the most ambitious parts of Apple's financial business." The platform, known as "Project Breakout", will be used by Apple to move more fintech projects internally rather than by partners, including "review, approval and transaction history".
Apple Pay Later is expected to launch sometime "in March or April," according to Gurman.
