iPhone ownership like Netflix! Apple could change the way you buy your next iPhone

iPhone monthly subscription service is on the cards, says latest rumour out of Cupertino. Here is what you need to know about it.

iPhone subscription plan in the works by Apple; here are all details you need to know. (Apple)

Owning an iPhone could be like paying your monthly Netflix subscription price in the future! Based on the latest rumours emerging out of Cupertino, Apple could be planning to introduce a subscription based service for its iPhone — something akin to its Apple One service, or membership to its online services. It is even said that Apple could tie it with its Apple Care service and several of its bundled online services. This isn't a new thing in the smartphone space, since Reliance Jio already offers a similar service for its budget JioPhone Next smartphone in India.

The rumour comes via Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and hence there is a high chance of this happening in the future. Nonetheless, Apple is yet to announce anything officially on this front and hence, you should take this with a pinch of salt. Apple has so far sold its iPhones at full price and only offers upgrade programs as well as exchange offers across several countries to encourage more people to buy its iPhones.

iPhone ownership like Netflix

“The service would be Apple's biggest push yet into automatically recurring sales, allowing users to subscribe to hardware for the first time -- rather than just digital services,” says Gurman in his report.

This kind of a service could help Apple with its business into luring people to buy its newer iPhones, even as it extends software support for its older devices longer than its competition. At the moment, Apple is the only brand supporting its smartphones with OS updates for six years.

However, that also means less of its existing iPhone users are likely to upgrade to its newer models. Moreover, Apple is desperately pushing its streaming and music services as a better alternative to the industry established ones; a subscription service with everything bundled into one could help Apple push the numbers.

With new models such as the iPhone SE 2022 offering greater accessibility across the masses, it remains to be seen how Apple's rumoured subscription service for the iPhone helps its business and long-time Apple customers alike. It also remains to be seen whether Apple brings this service eventually to the iPad and Mac in the future.