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Genuinely baffled at the business strategy of taking a relatively low cost commodity product, and attempting to turn it into a higher-cost (in the long term) subscription.

Like, I get it in the spreadsheet sense that more money and recurring revenue is good for HP. But how exactly is this supposed to play out in the marketplace?

Are there any examples of other companies successfully executing a similar strategy?

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I think this is a case of wishful spreadsheet thinking. The numbers go up in Excel, must be good!

Subscriptions can be cheaper for the business overall, and that savings passed on to customers. Because there is a subscription their incentive is to use less ink for the same thing, and make printers that last for a long time, both of which long term reduce costs.

Note that I said can above. Just because things can be cheaper doesn't mean the costs will be passed on. Just because the costs can be cheaper doesn't mean you will find that savings.

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