媒体此前报道，苹果2022年开始启动上述iPhone硬件订阅项目，当时计划2022年底以前推出订阅服务。由于遭遇了软件漏洞和监管问题等诸多挫折，订阅服务上线的计划日期延迟到去年，后来进一步推迟。Media reports indicate that Apple has abandoned its efforts to change the way consumers purchase iPhones. If the news is true, this represents another setback for Apple's Apple Pay Business following the shutdown of the Huabei Pay Later service earlier this year.
After two years of effort without success, Apple has halted the iPhone Hardware subscription service project, abandoning the attempt to change the way consumers purchase iPhones.
On December 18, Wednesday, Eastern Time, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources, that Apple has ceased development work on the aforementioned service. Apple's initial idea was to allow users to subscribe to an iPhone like they do for apps: paying a monthly fee and replacing the phone every year, but they have recently abandoned this effort. The relevant project team at Apple has been disbanded, and team members have been reassigned to other projects.
Media previously reported that Apple launched the aforementioned iPhone Hardware subscription project in 2022, planning to roll out the subscription service by the end of 2022. Due to software bugs and regulatory issues, among other setbacks, the launch date for the subscription service was delayed to last year, and then further postponed.
Reports on Wednesday indicated that before the aforementioned iPhone subscription project was halted, all project work had been completely restarted.
After the news broke, Apple's company representatives declined to comment on the matter. If the news is true, it would be another setback for Apple's Apple Pay business this year.
In June of this year, Apple announced the shutdown of its buy now pay later service, Pay Later, and will no longer provide new loans through Pay Later. This was just a year after Apple launched the Pay Later installment loan service in the USA. The Pay Later service allowed users to repay up to $1,000 in shopping expenses in four installments, and the closure of Pay Later signifies that Apple is retracting its efforts to expand into financial services.
Before announcing the closure of Pay Later, Apple indicated its intention to integrate third-party services like Affirm Holding and Citibank into the new iOS 18 software, highlighting Apple's shift in guiding consumers towards third-party programs.
