Apple's plan to offer an iPhone subscription service is dead before it gets started. According to Bloombergthe Cupertino company has shelved a project that would allow people to pay a monthly subscription fee in exchange for annual iPhone upgrades.

Apple first started making plans to change the way people buy phones back in 2022. The theory for the company, according to report from Bloomberg at that time, was the transfer of phone ownership to a model closer to renting a car. Instead of selling the devices outright or letting people pay for them over several years through monthly payments, consumers pay a flat fee each month for access to the device. When a new iPhone drops, subscribers can upgrade to the latest model.

The idea behind the now-nixed idea is to tie more people into recurring payments and keep people locked into the Apple ecosystem. For many consumers, the plan doesn't change much, except that they can pay a simple monthly fee for the right to upgrade their device. Of course, they won't actually own the phone they use—but most people are locked into two or three year payment plans however, and by the time the payments are completed, the device has lost most of its value.

These longer-term installment-based payment plans, paired with a distinct lack of attractive features in recent iPhone releases, have resulting in a slowdown of people upgrading devices. Making phone ownership a subscription plan will eliminate the difficulty for consumers to upgrade and get new devices off store shelves. It will also move people who currently pay their mobile carriers for their devices to Apple's ledge, which may upset some telecom execs.

But the subscription concept also ignores a potentially key detail of the consumer experience: people want to keep their stuff. A YouGov survey from 2023 found that seven out of 10 Americans want to hang on to their device for at least two years, and about one in six would keep their phone for five or more years if they could. A Gallup survey found more than half of the respondents says they only upgrade phones when absolutely necessary, because their current device has stopped working or is obsolete.

Now, that could change if Apple can successfully increase the relationship of consumers with their device. If it's no longer a phone they own and just a piece of hardware they're renting, they may be more willing to offer something similar for the same price. every month. But for now, iPhone ownership will continue as always: by paying a carrier you don't want a monthly fee until the phone is finally yours.