Apple preparing to unveil iPhone subscription service ...

By paying a monthly subscription fee, customers will get a new iPhone and very likely a number of bundled services such as Apple TV+ or extra ... Apple Mac iPhone iPad AppleWatch AppleTV Audio Accessories Software BestPicks Deals Opinion Newsletter DigitalMagazine–Subscribe DigitalMagazine–LogIn Skiptocontent Home/iPhone/News Foundry Update:Apple’srumorediPhonesubscriptionservicewasnotannouncedattheFarOutevent,butMarkGurmanbelievesitcouldstillarriveintimefortheholidays. ThisWednesdayApplewilllaunchnewiPhones,buttheFarOuteventcouldalsoseetheannouncementofanewwayofbuyingandsellingthecompany’sphones. MarkGurman,aleakerwithalargereadershipanddecentpredictivetrackrecord,haspostedapreviewofApple’sSeptember7event,andslipsinamentionofitsrumoredhardwaresubscriptionserviceneartheend.Therearefewnewdetailsinthearticle,butwealreadyhavearoughideaofhowthiswouldworkfromwhenGurmanoriginallypredicteditbackinthespring. Bypayingamonthlysubscriptionfee,customerswillgetanewiPhoneandverylikelyanumberofbundledservicessuchasAppleTV+orextraiCloudstorage.GurmansaysitwillbetiedtoAppleOne,thecompany’sservicesbundle,butit’sunclearhowmuchmoreexpensivethiswouldbewiththehandsetincluded. Backinthespring,GurmanthoughtthesubscriptionservicemightattempttoundercutthecurrentiPhoneUpgradeProgram,whichstartsat$35.33permonth.Heproposedmonthlyfeesof$35,$45and$50forthelatestiPhonesinstandard,ProandProMaxspec,albeitstressingthatthesewere“obviouslyjustback-of-the-envelopemath.” ButifAppleOneservicesarethrownin,thatpointsathigherpricing.Afterall,AppleOnePremier,thecurrenttoptier,costs$29.95permonthonitsown.Ifyou’regettingeverything,logicwouldsuggestsomethingwellnorthof$50,althoughApplemaywelltrytoachievealowerheadlinenumberbyofferingasubscriptionwithonlyafewoftheservicesbundledin. RegardlessofthepricingstrategyApplegoesfor,expecttopaymorethanthetotalretailpriceofthephoneoverthecourseofownership.Therewillbesavingsonthebundledservices–youcancurrentlysavearound$20amonthbytakingoutanAppleOnePremiersubratherthanpayingfortheservicesindividually–butAppleisalwaysmoregenerouswithsoftwareorentertainmentproductsthathaveafixedcosttothecompanythanoneswhereithastoworryaboutper-unitmargins. GurmanstopsshortofpredictingthatiPhone+,asthesubscriptionservicecouldintheorybebranded,willbeannouncedattheFarOutevent.“Asofnow,”heinsteadwrites,hedginghisbets,“Ihavenoreasontobelievethat[it]won’thappenbeforetheendoftheyear.”AndweallknowthattheiPhone14launchwon’tbethelastAppleeventof2022–itmightnotevenbethemostinteresting. Nevertheless,itwouldplainlymakemoresensetoannounceanewiPhonepaymentsystemataniPhoneeventthanatonewhichfocusesonMacsandiPads. We’llfindoutonWednesdaywhetherAppleisreadytoannouncetheiPhonesubscriptionservice.Ifyou’dliketogetthenewsrightaway,youcanwatchtheeventliveandofcoursefollowalltheannouncementsandanalysisrighthereonMacworld. Author:DavidPrice,Editor DavidhaslovedtheiPhonesincecoveringtheoriginal2007launch;laterhisobsessionexpandedtoincludeiPadandAppleWatch.Heoffersadvicetoowners(andprospectiveowners)ofthesedevices. RecentstoriesbyDavidPrice: ThebestiPhonedealsthismonth ApplewillbeforcedtoswitchiPhonetoUSB-Cby2024 HowtoturnoffCrashDetectionontheiPhoneandAppleWatch