Apple is going to make some big changes to its services this year. If you have an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Apple TV you're going to be getting some important new features including changes to the Health app, changes to Apple Pay and maybe even changes to the way you buy your iPhone 14.
The news comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, as reported by Macrumors. According to Gurman, Apple is preparing a big push with its various services this year – and one of them is the hardware subscription service that was leaked earlier this year.
Apple is reportedly working on a way to make getting Apple kit as simple and straightforward as upgrading your iCloud storage: you'd simply go into Apple's app, choose the iPhone you want and choose the subscription plan that's best for you.
However, it seems that this has proved a bit more difficult to implement than Apple perhaps expected, so the subscriptions may not arrive until 2023. Apple's still aiming for a 2022 launch, though.
New features for Apple Fitness+ and Apple Pay
In addition to the usual additional workouts we'd expect in iOS 16, Apple also intends to add a new component to Apple Fitness+ this year: an "Instacart-like service that integrates with nutrition data in the Health app". Instacart is a US service for ordering delivery or pickups from local food shops. That sounds like an odd one for Apple because as Gurman points out, the margins in food are very low and such a system would be very complex to create. It's possible that while Apple has indeed "explored" such a service, it may have decided that the returns aren't worth the effort.
One feature that's very likely to arrive this year is a Klarna-style pay later option with Apple Pay. Pay-later services are making huge inroads in ecommerce right now and Apple already has Apple Pay (and in the US, Apple Card), so it's not a huge leap for Apple to add staged payments to its existing offering.
Last but not least there's the Apple TV, which sometimes feels like the forgotten device in Apple's hardware line-up. Gurman says there will be substantial upgrades to the device but so far, there's no indication as to what those upgrades might be. But with Apple TV+ killing it with its programming right now, hopefully Apple has renewed its interest in its TV hardware too.
Upgrade to smarter living
Get the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products straight to your inbox.
Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
-
Google Pixel phones set for major Android upgrade very soon – with release date revealed
Your Google Pixel will get this software update before any other Android phone
By Chris Hall Published
-
Your iPhone 16 or 16 Pro battery should last longer, here's why
There's an increase in battery size in all iPhone 16 models
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Your iPhone 16 or 16 Pro battery should last longer, here's why
There's an increase in battery size in all iPhone 16 models
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
One of next summer's most exciting sci-fi blockbusters has been shot on an iPhone
Danny Boyle is sticking to the basics
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Apple finally opens up to third-party app stores, but only if you win the postcode lottery
iPads are getting a more open ecosystem in Europe
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Apple's iOS 18 is available now – here's why you should update your iPhone today
This free update for your iPhone brings a ton of new features even to older iPhone models
By Mat Gallagher Published
-
Your iPhone or iPad might lose Netflix soon – here's why
Netflix is dropping some support
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
iPhone 16 vs iPhone 15: all four models compared – should you pre-order today?
How do the 2024 iPhone upgrades compare to what was launched last year's iPhone 15 models?
By David Nield Published
-
Apple Intelligence rollout to begin soon – here's when your iPhone will get it
Apple has announced different stages for its AI system rollout, here's when it's coming to your region
By Rik Henderson Published
-
iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max – bigger, more powerful and smarter
Apple's latest Pro models are upgraded in just about every area
By Rik Henderson Published