Over the past few years, we have heard rumors that Apple might launch its own iPhone subscription service. The idea was that users would pay a monthly fee to have a little easier access to the latest iPhone models. Now, however, it appears that plan may have been scrapped.

According to a Bloomberg report, the plan was to “make owning an iPhone like subscribing to an app.” However, the project appears to have been “recently terminated,” with software issues and regulatory concerns largely to blame.

According to Bloomberg, this subscription is somehow different from signing up for a regular installment payment plan. All that is said is that users sign up for the service, pay a monthly fee through their Apple account, and have the option to upgrade to the latest iPhone model each year.

The real benefit to the user is probably the ability to change iPhones on a regular basis without financial penalty. What is not clear is what happens to those who do not choose such frequent upgrades, and it is hard to see how this is different from existing installment and payment plans.

Presumably, the upgrade relies on returning an existing iPhone in good condition, as trade-ins already work. But what happens if you keep it? Will you continue to make monthly payments forever, as if you were renting the iPhone from Apple? Or is there a limit to the number of payments you can make, after which the iPhone is yours? Because it's just an installment plan, and there are plenty of them already available.

Perhaps that's why this whole thing stopped; Bloomberg speculates that Apple may have upset its wireless carrier partners with this idea.

Bloomberg also speculates that the subscription may be too similar to Apple Pay Later, an interest-free installment payment plan that was recently discontinued due to increased regulation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau We also speculate that it may be too similar to Apple Pay Later, an interest-free installment payment plan recently discontinued due to increased regulation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Apple may have decided that it was not worth it to tighten regulations for such a small portion of its business.

Whatever the reason, subscribing to get an iPhone is not likely to be available anytime soon. At least not from Apple. The only other option is to get some sort of payment plan at literally every other retailer or carrier that sells iPhones. So you are still pretty spoiled for choice. As for what Apple isn't scrapping, check out the big upgrade to Apple Maps to compete with Google Maps.