Apple is continuing to develop an iPhone hardware subscription service as it prepares to launch its Apple Pay Later service. But according to a recent Bloomberg article, this iPhone subscription service is also experiencing engineering delays, exactly like Apple Pay Later.
The iPhone subscription program was supposed to debut alongside the iPhone 13 in 2021 or the iPhone 14 in 2022. Nonetheless, the project is still in the works at Apple and has not been abandoned.
The iPhone hardware subscription program will differ from other iPhone financing options in that “the monthly charge would not be the price of the device divided over 12 or 24 months.” Instead, it would be a “yet-to-be-determined monthly fee based on the device selected by the user.”
Apple’s fintech services are built on an underlying platform developed by Apple, which is “one of the most ambitious parts of Apple’s finance efforts.” This platform, dubbed “Project Breakout,” will be used by Apple to bring more of its fintech projects in-house, including “checks, approvals, and transaction histories.” All of this is currently overseen on Apple’s behalf by partners.
