Apple’s (AAPL) market capitalization now stands in the $500 billion range, although it was over $700 billion at one time. Talk of the iPhone maker becoming the world’s first $1 trillion company has faded… along with its stock price. Indeed, any hardware company faces an uphill battle, particularly at a time when more and more tech companies are adopting subscription-based strategies.

Apple as a service?

But what if Apple could bundle its hardware into a subscription-based offering? Bernstein analysts have an interesting suggestion and believe that such a strategy could give the iPhone maker the boost it needs to become the first $1 trillion company in the world. The company is already dipping its toe into this pool with the iPhone upgrade program and monthly subscription services like Apple Music, but Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Jr. argues that it could do more, dubbing his strategy “Apple as a service.”

This phrase isn’t exactly a new one, although this particular usage of it is somewhat new. Past ideas around the “Apple as a service” idea include a world in which the company keeps adding subscription-based services like Apple Music. For example, the company has long been rumored to be working on a streaming TV service, although we haven’t heard anything on this front for a while, possibly because management may be having difficulties striking the deals that are needed in order to offer anything like this.

Goldman Sachs is one firm that has suggested this concept, although there have been other firms that have examined Apple’s service revenue and highlighted it as the next area of major growth.

Could Apple bundle hardware in a subscription-based model?

Sacconaghi suggests that Apple could bundle a family package with three iPad Minis, one iPad Air, and three iPhones, with the iPads on a three-year replacement cycle and the iPhones on a two-year replacement cycle. He suggests a price of $140 per month for such a bundle and says that services like Apple Music and iCloud storage could be added in. Also he said the rumored streaming TV service could be an important element in driving a shift in mindset among consumers, and while there is little precedent for a strategy like this pertaining specifically to hardware, he thinks Apple could pave the way.