Apple Pay Later would have been a convenient way for customers to purchase top-end hardware without paying the total immediately, but the feature has reportedly been delayed to next year. This addition was supposed to be available for iOS 16 users, but Apple has missed the initial release, and according to the latest report, the feature will arrive with a future software update, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
“Apple Pay Later is one of several iOS 16 features to miss the initial release. But I think there is more than meets the eye here. See, Apple is very careful with its wording. Among the nearly half-dozen features listed as coming later, Apple Pay Later is the only one with no time frame. Every other delayed feature is listed as coming “later this year.”
This leads me to believe that the company isn’t completely certain when Apple Pay Later will be ready for launch. It’s possible the feature won’t arrive until iOS 16.4 in the spring. I’m hearing there have been fairly significant technical and engineering challenges in rolling out the service, leading to the delays.”
In his Power On newsletter, Gurman does not specify the reasons for delaying the Apple Pay Later feature, nor does he state if there will be changes to it when it officially arrives with iOS 16.4. Though Apple Pay Later provides a flexible payment structure for people to split a purchase into four equal payments over six weeks, it is not without its flaws. For instance, the maximum limit is $1,000, which at this stage, will only get you an unlocked iPhone 14 Pro with 128GB of internal storage.
Suppose if customers want to purchase top-end hardware such as the M1 Ultra Mac Studio, Apple Pay Later does not provide such an option, at least at this time. It is also unconfirmed if Apple plans to increase the maximum limit, but whatever is destined for customers, we will witness it in 2023.
