Apple may have plans to launch mobile application rentals for iOS, bloggers at Tech Erra ^[1] claim after digging through lines of iTunes 10.5 beta 9 code. Certain lines of code seem to suggest that the company has plans to create apps that would delete themselves at the end of a rental period, the bloggers wrote. “Apps are automatically removed from your iTunes library at the end of the rental period,” read one pop-up warning.

App rentals may be a difficult sell, bloggers at MobileMarketingWatch ^[2] speculated. The option of renting an app for a specified period may appeal to smartphone owners who know that they will only want to use the app for a short time, or who don’t mind paying for a brief trial period.

For those who have smartphones that work on the Android platform, there is already the option to use apps on a trial basis through Amazon’s App Store.

Read more at PCMag ^[3].