Apple has suspended its iPhone hardware subscription service, giving up its attempt to change the way consumers buy its flagship products, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple's idea was to make owning an iPhone like a subscription app: Consumers pay a monthly fee and get a new phone every year, but Apple recently stopped working on that, people familiar with the matter said. The team has been disbanded and reassigned to other projects, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
The move is part of a broader shift in the way Apple pays services. The hardware subscription service is overseen by the company's ApplePay team, which also shut down its "buy now, pay later" program earlier this year. The service allows shoppers to pay in installments, but Apple is now directing consumers to third-party programs.
Bloomberg News first reported in 2022 that Apple was developing a hardware subscription service for iPhones, which was scheduled to be launched by the end of that year. After encountering many setbacks including software bugs and regulatory issues, it was eventually postponed to 2023 or even later. Company executives pushed the work back into the design phase before the project was ultimately canceled.