Exclusive | Inside Apple’s ‘Subscribe to iPhone’ Plan, Pricing Formula + More

Let’s say I’m Apple, and you subscribe to my program to receive an iPhone for $50 a month for twelve consecutive months until the next one is out.

By the end of those twelve months, I will have $600 in my pocket and the iPhone I gave you back in September of last year. I can now recycle the materials of that device and use them to manufacture the next generation of iPhones or even sell it at the refurbished store. This will improve Apple’s benefit margins while making the iPhone available to more people.

Apple could even include bundles with wearables like the Apple Watch or the AirPods, although I doubt the latter will be available as a subscription. Apple could also try this with an iPad or the Mac, although I haven’t heard anything about these products being available as a subscription. We shall see.

What Our Sources Say

It isn’t clear whether Apple will launch the project this year or next. While it would make sense to do it now since the iPhone 14 will be more expensive than last year’s device, it is true that the company needs to do a lot of research on this before launching it; otherwise, it could end up being a flop. 

My sources suggest that Apple is internally discussing the pricing strategy for this new subscription model, and it looks like it will end up looking something like this:

1. Take the total price of the iPhone.
2. Subtract its expected trade-in value in a year.
3. Divide that by 12.
4. Add the monthly AppleCare+ cost, and that’s the subscription price you’ll end up with.

iPhone Subscription Example

The iPhone 14 Pro is expected to cost somewhere around $1,099. Let’s say its expected trade-in value is $550. Subtract that from the total price, and we get $549. If we divide that by twelve, we get $45.75. Add AppleCare+ with Theft and Lost coverage, and we get a final price of $59.24. Round that to $60, and now you have what a subscription to the iPhone 14 Pro would cost. Of course, Apple is considering different ways of deciding how to price its subscription to the iPhone, and this is just one I’ve heard of, so take it with a grain of salt.

As far as I know, the Cupertino-based company is currently considering whether to include the Apple Watch as an option with the iPhone or not. I’m being told it won’t be sold as a subscription separately and will only be available as one if you pair it with an iPhone, although it is too early to confirm anything.

Let me know what you think about this in the comments below. Would you be interested in this subscription? I hope you found this article helpful. As always, have a fantastic day.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]