According to information, Apple will combine its services such as Apple One and Apple Care with its subscription service, adds the updated Bloomberg report. If all goes well, Apple will release the service later this year. Interestingly, analyst Toni Sacconaghi introduced the idea in 2016, promoting it as the strategy that could make Apple a multibillion-dollar company. Apple is now hovering around the $ 3 trillion ceiling without applying this trick, but it still sounds like an exciting proposition.
A rental that has to do with the brand
A subscription-based model for hardware promotion sounds like another profit-making move by Apple. But it’s hard to ignore the rental appeal here. Apple is actually offering a service that will allow those interested to rent an iPhone and try it out for a while, paying a small amount for the temporary ownership. I gave the fantastic (for now) Apple hardware subscription service to Gursakhi Miglani, a student doing a postgraduate course in clinical psychology. He was not particularly worried about renting an iPhone because of the closed software ecosystem, but expressed a willingness to rent a Mac because of the fluid software experience and long battery life. “I can already imagine many of my classmates thinking about renting the latest iPhone for a while and displaying it on all social media,” Miglani added. It’s not hard to imagine that there is already a demographic of users – especially the younger generation with social media knowledge who loves their iPhones – ready to take over an Apple product long enough to gain some influence on Instagram and Snapchat. Even blue-collar workers are not immune to charm, as is the case with celebrities. There is a reason why a ton of iPhone accessories leave a cut to show this coveted Apple logo, especially on the iPhone. However, it is not a hypothetical concept. Duke University research from 2008 put it all in the title – The logo can make you think differently. Martin Lindstrom, author of Brandwashed, chose Apple as the perfect example of brandwashing, a portmanteau of branding and brainwashing. In a 2019 opinion published in the New York Times, Lindstrom explained the cult that Apple has created around its products. In another story for Fast Company, he attributed Apple’s appeal to stylish material and to being social as a brand.
Well, it’s about services too
An iPhone is not just about hardware, but the sum of fast endorsements and reward services. The best example happens to be iMessage, especially in the USA. And even if Apple extends its services beyond its own hardware pool, it limits some of the beautiful features. Take for example the spatial sound with Dolby Atmos, which is limited to the AirPods series via Apple Music. Apple’s services, by themselves, offer good value, even if they do not beat each of their respective rivals. Apple Fitness + has been hugely successful and its content on Apple TV now competes with the top awards in the entertainment industry. In 2022 alone, Apple received six Oscar nominations, with CODA claiming the Best Picture award. With iCloud +, Apple offers some handy tools like Hide My Email, Private Relay and Home Kit Secure Video to its privacy-conscious audience. All of the above services are provided as part of the Apple One package, which Apple intends to offer with its hardware subscription service. Until now, users who wanted to experience Apple services in all their glory were forced to invest in expensive Apple hardware. A rental service removes this deterrent and paves the way for you to know everything as a group deal. And even if only a small percentage of controllers are affected by the brief rental experience, it could well make Apple a long-term subscriber – and possibly a lifelong member of the Apple ecosystem on the road.
A house for the old and renovated
But is the market ready for an Apple hardware subscription service? To get the answer, I went straight to the other side – the seller. Sunil Motwani, the owner of an authorized Apple Store that sells Apple hardware in a luxury New Delhi area since the days of the iPhone 3GS, has high hopes for Apple hardware support plans. Motwani says Apple gadgets, especially the iPhone, are already available with aggressive software such as zero-interest funding, and the iPhone upgrade plan is also a less tax-free way to own the latest Apple phones. Or a Mac, for that matter. And despite their high ambition and popularity in the new generation, most people would really like to own the device instead of renting it for a few months. New Apple hardware is also available at a high price. But there is definitely a market that wants to get to know the software ecosystem without being too keen on the latest hardware tricks. “If Apple focuses on refurbished units and previous-generation iPhones to offer its hardware subscription service,” Motwani said, an extremely high rental price. . » Diving deeper into the economy of a hardware subscription service, Motwani added that there is always the risk of ruining the product and paying a high price for it. Apple will want to play it safe with this scenario as well, which could end up raising the price even further. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is likely to address this risk, both for itself and the customer, with a connected Apple Care component to the subscription service.
Apple can win in many ways
Apple has the lion’s share of the market in areas such as North America and China, and in a growing market such as India, it grew by 48% last year. Apple is ready to start manufacturing its latest iPhones in India from next month and analysts estimate that the relatively affordable iPhone SE 3 will drive only 25% of net shipments this year. In markets like the US, more users are looking for financing instead of paying the full price of a one-time phone, and trends are not much different elsewhere. So a hardware subscription strategy would not really be an alien idea. In emerging markets, price happens to be the strongest variable influencing a person to buy an iPhone. – more than just the design, the features and even the image of the brand. A rental will not solve everything, but it will definitely be worth experimenting for some. Especially when it is not accompanied by all the hassles of a financing system and the risk of getting stuck with an unwanted product. Apple has more to gain here than to lose. Even if a person does not change their commitment to the smartphone after briefly renting an iPhone, but eventually likes Apple Music or Apple TV, Apple wins the subscriber who pays. This is a victory in itself.
Recommendations of the authors
