When the iPhone 14 arrived in September, one feature was rumored to be missing: subscription services. But according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is not abandoning the project.
Now, Gurman says the program, which was scheduled to “debut in 2022 or 2023,” is still in development at Apple and “should eventually come.” While details on how the program will work are scarce, Gurman previously described a hardware service that allows you to rent an iPhone for a fixed fee, rather than buying it and funding it like the iPhone Upgrade Program.
According to the latest report, the iPhone subscription program is one of several deferred financial services, including Buy Now, Pay Later and the Apple Cash Savings Account, announced last year. The problems are reportedly related to Apple’s plan to create a “next-generation financial system” to support new features. The initiative, dubbed Project Breakout, will allow Apple to handle all aspects of the financial agreement, including “interest calculation, remuneration, credit checks, approvals, and transaction history.”
However, there are signs that the project is moving forward. Apple Pay Later, which was announced at WWDC in June, has expanded internal testing and is expected to arrive “by March or April.” Gurman did not reveal a timeline for the iPhone subscription service, but it is expected to accompany the September release of the iPhone.