Apple may have cancelled its long-rumored iPhone hardware subscription service

Apple has reportedly stopped work on a discrete iPhone hardware subscription service, but the goals of the project have been largely accomplished with the iPhone Upgrade Program.

Rumors about an iPhone hardware subscription service solidified in 2022, after a few years of speculation. Reportedly, the prototype of the program applied a monthly charge to customers not dissimilar to App Store payments. Loans are said to be provided by Apple itself.

Apple was said to be actively testing the program internally two years ago. In September of 2022, it was thought that the project would deploy to users before the end of that year.

The report about the cancellation of the program on Wednesday afternoon also says that Apple will direct customers to third-party loan offerings instead.

And then, there's also installments through Apple Card, and the iPhone Upgrade Program. Both existing monthly payment programs that Apple facilitates are still running and aren't expected to stop.

Carriers also have their own monthly payment programs.

iPhone Upgrade Program may already fit the bill for what Apple wanted to do

The iPhone Upgrade Program operates in a similar fashion to what's been rumored for an iPhone subscription service. Although, instead of being underwritten by Apple, the iPhone Upgrade Program is funded by Citizens Bank NA.

Under this program, qualifying members get to pay a monthly fee and receive not only that year's new iPhone model, but then their choice of new iPhone every year.

That means, very literally a new device every 12 months. While you don't have to upgrade, you also cannot do so before you have made 12 monthly payments.

Consequently in some years, and depending on when you join the program, you may not be eligible to upgrade to the new phone on launch day, just given shipment and availability timing.

Really what you're doing first is going through the same steps you would to buy a new iPhone.

The first exception to that may be at the carrier stage. If you select the option marked or activate with any carrier later, then you won't get the choice of the iPhone Upgrade Program later in the process.

It's not that you're locked to a carrier, though. Even though it seems so because you must pick one at this point, once you're on the program, you can swap carriers at any time.

If you join the iPhone Upgrade Program and get an iPhone, you also get AppleCare+. It is not possible to skip it. However, you can add to it with the more comprehensive AppleCare+ Theft and Loss option, which is an additional fee that gets added to your monthly installments.