Apple ticks lower after reportedly ending iPhone hardware subscription service

Shares of Apple (AAPL) have turned lower, falling from earlier gains after Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that the company has ended work on a project to create an iPhone hardware subscription service, pulling back from efforts to change the way consumers purchase its flagship device. The idea behind the project was that consumers could pay monthly fees and get new phones every year, but the company recently wound down the effort, Gurman said, noting that the team behind the project has been disbanded and reassigned elsewhere. Shares of Apple are down fractionally in afternoon trading.