Last week, a report by Bloomberg indicated that Apple could adopt a new hardware subscription for iPhone and iPad later this year. That said, an analysis by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners shows that this is actually a logical next step for Apple users.
CIRP analyzed consumer behavior for subscription-related services, including phone purchase financing and trade-in rates, and the use of Apple services and apps. Based on this analysis, CIRP finds iPhone owners use these services frequently enough, meaning that Apple has a large base of users that could adopt an iPhone subscription service.
According to the report, almost half of Apple users already finance their iPhone purchases, while two-thirds use paid iCloud storage, and almost half subscribe to Apple Music.
That said, it would be only natural for Apple users to adopt an in-house hardware subscription service. CIRP took this survey with US Apple customers that purchased an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple Watch as of December 2021.
“Based on current consumer behavior, iPhone users are primed to adopt a subscription service that provides an iPhone bundled with useful apps,” said Lowitzr. “Almost half iPhone owners already finance their iPhone purchase, paying monthly for a new phone. And about one-third trade-in their old phone when they buy a new one. So, a significant portion of the user base is accustomed to never owning a phone, instead basically leasing it. Importantly, iPhone users also have grown accustomed to getting a new model every two or at most three years. Apple can easily match these patterns with a program that routinely sends a new phone in exchange for the old one.”
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