The talks are not limited to just iPhone sales, they will cover all Apple products from watches to laptops. An easy example is the $1,000 iPhone X, a smartphone that, without a contract, is easily equal to some people’s monthly wage. No details have been released yet, and the deal may still fall through.
The ramifications here are not particularly obvious, but if financing new technology becomes the norm, it is possible we could see the prices of new products increase. Phones tend to be financed through contracts, but the ability to purchase increasingly expensive technology with payment schedules is a quick way to indebt a generation that cannot afford it.
If an agreement is reached, it can be expected that interest rates and payment plans would be below credit card rates, but with increasing interest rates, it is hard to believe if it is worth the trouble.