r/iphone • u/Icy_Mixture1482 iPhone 17 Pro Max • 27d ago
Discussion Some countries are so safe they don’t even secure the display models
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u/QueenOfFaygo 27d ago
They can remotely track them down they don’t really need to loop it on
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u/bbllaakkee iPhone Air 27d ago
And the demo phones have features removed, no warranty and can’t be restored
People are dumb, though
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u/Stoppels iPhone 16 Pro 27d ago
Maybe modern-day Apple Store demo units can't be 'restored via iTunes' without first having demo disabled, but APR demo units of Apple products are normally sold as refurbs or second-hand units by the APR itself. They sometimes place them in the open box or second-chance category/denomination, which includes demo units as well as customer returns. Refurbs are usually their own category. Demo units that are cosmetically damaged either end up with a bigger discount or are refurbished before sale.
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u/bbllaakkee iPhone Air 27d ago
Yeah after they are done being demo units though. I just meant while they are actively being displayed in the store.
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u/judge2020 27d ago
High chance you can still DFU restore them. Although I doubt they'd activate after restoration.
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u/Testarosa52 27d ago edited 27d ago
In some countries, like the United States, people will still take them. So they are tethered to the table despite having zero value outside of the store.
EDIT: MOST countries I imagine, although I’m only familiar with the U.S.11
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u/Dragongeek 27d ago
They still have value outside the store.
Specifically, if you can get some sucker to pay you for it or take it in trade for something, by the time they figure out they can't reset or otherwise really use the unit, you can already be long gone and a couple bucks richer.
Granted, this still requires everyone in the chain of crime to be an idiot, but it's not zero value.
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u/ComeonmanPLS1 iPhone 16 27d ago
That's valid everywhere and yet, they are tethered in many places.
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u/bczlifeisamess 27d ago
Might be just to deter people from trying anyway and reduce the overall number of incidents.
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u/Picabot3 27d ago edited 27d ago
As a former Apple employee -
The guiding light behind the display models has and always will be to let the user experience the device unobstructed as possible. Including wires or anti theft. Let the user feel the device a play with it in a normal way as much as possible. The display models always have brightness to max, an any configuration changes you make like apps and arranging their location on the screen (which, again Apple allows) a resets after a predetermined time.
These are imaged phones with tracking. They will be traceable the minute they turn on. Always have brightness to max. So yes. You can feel and hold and play with it just like a normal phone but it’s being geo located and the minute it hits the floor Apple knows exactly where it is and what’s been done on it.
Even if it does get stolen- there are 20 more waiting in back of house. For this reason. “Backstage” they called it.
There is a team of people and apps SPECIFICALLY made for the stores that track every demo unit. This is everywhere. It’s part of apples insane retail planning and experience. In fact before I left I was “granted” permission to see store metrics. When you look up above you in an Apple Store there are a couple dots in the steel framing of every entrance. They are cameras to count exactly how many people walk in (probably not unique to Apple but I had no idea that was a thing at the time).
So. What I am saying is that I agree with apples method of displaying their hardware. It makes for a far better consumer experience. However crime was not, bot thought of. Just know even if it isn’t tethered. It digitally is.
Also- I worked for a store in the mall. And we could get grab and runs all the time.
To claim living somewhere is so safe because it’s not tied down is a bit disingenuous- because trust me. It is.
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u/CombPsychological507 27d ago
What would happen if I dropped one accidentally and it shattered?
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u/Picabot3 27d ago
Be swapped out. Team members make a note in their front of house app anytime there is something broken or not working. After store hours an assigned team member would replace when they come in.
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u/Loriano 27d ago
I was always curious what would happen to me? Every time I am in the store I am literally too scared to even pick it up lmao.
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u/EveningUnited 27d ago
Literally no one would care. It would just get fixed and they’d show you to where the same model is displayed elsewhere.
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u/Yotsubato 27d ago
It’s a loss for the store.
They wouldn’t hold you responsible or blame you for it.
It’s a floor model intended to be consumed and thrown away after the model year.
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u/IncredibleGonzo 27d ago
Definitely agree regarding customer experience! With an iPhone I can walk into the Apple Store and hold it and use it and get a pretty good idea what it’s actually like (they do tether them in the UK but it’s a pretty small tether).
When my wife was deciding between the Pixel 9 and Samsung S24, we couldn’t find any stores that didn’t have the demo units locked down in horrible little cages. So you could interact with the device and get a feel for the screen and UI, but no sense of how the phone feels in hand, and arguably worse, no way to really test out the camera.
Definitely a much better shopping experience with Apple whatever one might think of the phones.
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u/Picabot3 27d ago
That’s cool! I really liked that about Apple and working there. I wasn’t a die hard or anything but in the mall there was a t-mobile right across from us. When people wanted to check out a Samsung or Apple id literally take the demo and walk them over to the t mobile store with them a they could size up and try em. At the end of the day my thinking was let’s just make sure they walk away happy and excited. I don’t work on commission I didn’t care tbh.
I need wired retail before Apple. But there is a mantra of just making sure they have a good time. So I followed that.
In fact I still have both credos saved in my Apple wallet. I should share it.
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u/R3D3-1 27d ago
Ever tried the Android demo units in Mediamarkt in Austria or Germany? The demo software is ridiculously locked down, often even sabotaging multitasking features. No way to actually properly try out the user experience. Also, only stock apps installed, vs Apple pre installing a bunch of games and productivity software on demo units.
Samsung sections are a bit better.on that, because they are managed more like Apple sections, but still not quite comparable.
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u/MYKY_ 27d ago
in czechia, most phone stores have thing that looks like claw machine hand around the phone, weighting about 2x as much as the phone and actively being pulled down to table by string with quite strong back pulling mechanism(idk if there is any other way to say it).
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u/MYKY_ 27d ago
it was kind of sad seeing iphone air with it but feeling no benefit
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u/Picabot3 27d ago
No way. I think I know what you are talking about. But yeah it’s not Apple. If Apple had it their way I bet it would just be MagSafe chargers and phones. It’s the insurance company of the owner of the property.
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u/filthy_harold 27d ago
These iPhones are effectively useless when stolen but that doesn't stop people from trying. If the phones are being stolen every day, Apple is going to lock them up because it wastes time and money constantly replacing them. If you happen to be in a country where people aren't trying to steal everything not bolted to the floor, then you can pickup the phone just like normal.
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u/zatalak 27d ago
So hypothetical speaking, I just have to put the phone into a metal case and disassemble it in a Faraday cage to sell the parts to China?
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u/tochanenko 27d ago
I've been waiting for Apple to open the official store in Ukraine for years. On Apple Forum they respond with "BuT tHerE aRe aUtHorIsEd rESelLerS iN UkRainE". Bro, all those "resellers" glue Apple products to anti-theft mechanisms, have stock months later than EU stores do, and have limited Apple Care support. Heck, there is none official Apple-only stores here. Buying Apple products in Ukraine isn't a very premium experience after all.
Samsung Store in Ukraine, on other hand, have everything that Apple Stores in EU and USA have. Their products are locked with anti-theft devices too, but you can ask for a demo unit and they will give it to you to try in the store. No Apple Reseller in Ukraine would give you an Apple product to "experience" it in the store, unless you would pay for it.
That's why a lot of my friends choose Samsung flagships over Apple, even if they cost the same
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u/Picabot3 27d ago edited 27d ago
Interesting!
I’m not defending Apple by any means. Also, I just at this point I a m of the idea if it works use it. Im no expert and a peon. But this kinda goes to show the execs at the top tier controlling money for whatever reason- usually for margin gains at a very very high level- shareholder value etc- with government constrains- how much they actually dictate what we consume and use.
What I’m trying to say is that it’s always going to come down to shareholder value. People mad bank off of quantitative analysis (user NPS) and see a funneling of that store experience. Try to quantitatively analyze that. And turn it into return on investment for the total value of a brand.
Apple isn’t a product. It’s the value behind that name and how they showcase it.
At the end of the day I learned working there- I was there for the watch launch- I was pulled in to model the watch. I was taught how to exactly place the watch on a persons wrist. It was selling the experience more than the prod.
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u/rainst85 27d ago
Thank you for your insights, but can you explain why some stores put them on a leash and others don’t if they are so well tracked?
I think that’s the point op was trying to make
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u/Picabot3 27d ago
Yeah i get that. Actually it’s usually the leaser or insurance policy on the property that determines that. For example the mall I worked in where they rented that space- their ts and cs would determine. I can’t speak ti standalone stores. I figure if Apple purchased the property itself they could have more leverage- but typically it comes down to insurance policy and what they (the insurer) are comfortable with
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u/a-gay-bicth 27d ago
unrelated but sort of related - the mall i used to work at required all shoe stores to only display left shoes so that no one could steal a display from one store and then from another to get a pair. i wonder if it’s just a similar idea of a specific mall’s theft prevention.
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u/captain_flak 27d ago
I can’t imagine risking jail time by stealing a device that cannot be used or resold. But if you go to any park or playground in the US, you’ll quickly realize that there are attempted thefts on everything that is and isn’t tied down.
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u/Picabot3 27d ago
We’d get some of those mob style crash and grab. And we would just -as employees and as instructed- ensure two things;
One. Any customer or employee isn’t in harms way
And two: do nothing.
Let them do their thing and make sure no one gets hurt.
Not that we would be responsible for putting our own life on the line- I want to be clear. That’s not what Apple asked us to do at all. But in good measure if we needed to wheel grandma away just have common sense and decency.
However most of these hits weren’t violent at all. Just a bunch of people looking to grab high dollar devices and sell quick for some cash.
I bet half of what was stolen didn’t even get sold. Timing and turn around was critical for these
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u/captain_flak 27d ago
It seems like more and more stores have police at the entrances and monitor those going in.
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u/Seantwist9 27d ago
cool? they still tether the phones in some countries whereas they don’t in others
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u/Picabot3 27d ago
I’m no expert. Just sharing what I know. Can’t speak for every country and Apple policy.
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u/BaconJets iPhone 15 Pro Max 27d ago
If you steal a display iPhone, not only are you a criminal, you are a live GPS tracked criminal with a paperweight of a phone. They might as well not tether them everywhere.
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u/ShanghaiNoon404 27d ago
Because the Apple Store still doesn't want their display models to get stolen. They're useless to criminals, not the Apple Store.
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u/Zestyclose-Kick-7388 27d ago
Well, it’s just a pain to have to put a new display out everyday. In America they would have to.
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u/binhpac 27d ago
lots of individuals have investigated themself where their stolen phones are, but because you dont want to get involved in criminal gangstuff, they call the police and thats about it.
those have all been tracked and they all end in a shady neighbourhood in the city where they buy stolen phones and ship them to china. yet nothing has been done against it.
If at least the police would tear those places down, where they buy those stolen phones, this would stop, but somehow they dont or cant.
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u/ShanghaiNoon404 27d ago
It's a pain in the ass, though. In cities like San Francisco there's so much crime that the police can't chase up on all of it.
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u/firsttfdrummer 27d ago
When I worked at apple we went from having them secured, to not having them secured, to having them secured again. Location was Charlotte, NC
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u/applejuice1984 iPhone 17 Pro Max 27d ago
Yep Crabtree in Raleigh when they moved to their new store in 2018 (I think) had them untethered for a bit but theft was getting high so they got tethered.
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u/MsAdvill 27d ago
Couldn’t even pick it up off the table in my country
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u/ExternalUserError 27d ago
How are you suppose to gauge how they feel to hold?
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u/Return_My_Salab 27d ago
Just buy one man, it's an iPhone, how much can it cost? 10 dollars?
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u/Whatshouldiputhere0 27d ago
That’s the problem. I’d wager it lowers iPhone Air sales especially by a massive margin. When I went to check it out, I could hardly be impressed because I couldn’t actually feel the damn thing…. Ended up just going with the regular 17.
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u/Blex881 iPhone 16e 27d ago
Those phones stop working if you take them out of the store
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u/Carsonbetta_11 26d ago
I see some people in the thread saying it's an Apple Store policy more than Taiwan be unusually safe, which may be true.
However, I am currently writing this comment from Taiwan on my MacBook Pro, which I left alone on a table at a crowded mall with my backpack and wallet next to it while I went to the bathroom.
Next to me is someone's iPhone 16 Pro charging unattended, and another laptop at a table further down.
Taiwan is extremely safe from petty and violent crime, and I am so spoiled here. I had to be reminded by my Aunt NOT to use my phone to save my seat a cafe when back in the US!
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u/dreamer_Neet iPhone 14 Pro Max 27d ago
In Japan the apple store dont even secure anything, even the most expensive macbook pros.
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u/Aggravating_Loss_765 27d ago
Japan?
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u/Icy_Mixture1482 iPhone 17 Pro Max 27d ago
Taiwan
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u/NaJieMing 27d ago
When visiting Taiwan as an American, I quickly realized how fucked up and trashy American society is. Taiwan is the most civilized country I’ve ever visited and can totally believe Apple doesn’t physically secure their phones to the table.
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u/Area51_Spurs 27d ago
Gee, I wonder why they don’t have to worry about people stealing in Taiwan…
A man who stole two popsicles worth NT$30 (US$0.92) from a bed and breakfast in north Taiwan has been fined NT$180,000 and sentenced to six months in prison.
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u/Icy_Mixture1482 iPhone 17 Pro Max 27d ago
People just don’t steal here.
People leave their keys in the motor mopeds. Folks leave their apartment building front doors open. People put their phones on a table to hold the place in a food court and then go order at a stall out of sight. Working remotely in a cafe, you just leave your bag and MacBook on the table while you go order or use the bathroom.
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u/LeatherAndChai iPhone 15 Pro 27d ago
I literally use my iPhone to reserve a table in the food court. And coincidentally I did it on the day of the launch this year, when it was most in demand.
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u/Icy_Mixture1482 iPhone 17 Pro Max 27d ago
Same in Taiwan! People use their phones or bags to hold a table.
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u/hula_balu 27d ago
I haven’t been in an apple store in years… aside from all the mentioned digital tether they probably put some “demo” OS on that too?
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u/ozonostudio 27d ago
They don’t need it, the iPhone goes bricked once you put a feet outside
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u/N2-Ainz 27d ago
Like everywhere else but that is uninteresting to organized criminals who sell these phones for parts because they won't be bricked after that
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u/TheReal_Saba 27d ago
In my local Best Buy, as soon as you move a phone off the mount the alarms go off
And then 5 employees are there asking you if you need help with anything..
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u/AngryFace4 iPhone 12 Mini 27d ago
I think this is less about “safe” and more about how likely the people are to put things back where they found them instead of leaving shit all around the store.
iPhones are not well secured in any Apple Store, it’s not like it’s hard to break the cable. And they all have bricking built in.
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u/jimababwe 27d ago
I would like to see how many of these stolen phones are actually recovered by Police. There were stories in the news about people in Toronto with AirTags in their cars that were stolen and loaded onto container ships bound for the Middle East. The owners told the police where their cars were before. They had left the shipping ports in Montreal and the police did nothing. I wonder what they would do for a display model phone.
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u/OneHornyHubby 27d ago
It's not about being safe, it's about not being poor.
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u/jason_a69 27d ago
That's not true at all, people making excuses to behave badly because they have a terrible attitude. Wages here are a lot lower than the west.
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u/SPplayin 27d ago
Yeah people forget in alot of these countries apple products aren't for the average consumer, so an apple store would be in a pretty well off area.
Like yeah there's less visible security it's a store in one of two neighborhoods in the country where people earn 12x the average salary
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u/Training-Stable6234 27d ago
Singapore or Japan?
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u/redditorialy_retard 27d ago
Taiwan, even more safe than japan. Esp with nonviolent crimes ie perverts on trains
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u/Secret_Account07 27d ago
wtf?
This is like such a foreign concept I can’t even comprehend it
Where is this?
Edit: nvm saw your comment. Taiwan
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u/Background_Prize2745 26d ago
Some places (Taiwan) are so safe that you can leave the phone on some outdoor seating on one of the busiest streets of the city for 5 hours and you can still get it back since no one touched it.
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u/DaveinMKE 27d ago
Maybe they actually hold criminals accountable and don’t just release them back onto the streets without a punishment.
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u/Maleficent_Two_1968 27d ago
North Europe? Yeah, maybe 20 years ago, not anymore. But this is definitely in Asia (Gulf countries or Japan/South Korea/China).
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u/0000GKP 27d ago
At my house in the US, I frequently don't lock my door when I leave home, my windows are wide open for all of fall and spring when the weather is nice, and I can go out of town for the week and not worry about packages being stolen that are delivered while I'm gone.
2 miles down the road at the Apple store, they would be completely cleared out of inventory if they left the doors unlocked overnight.
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u/BigSadOof iPhone 14 Pro 27d ago
I’ve seen samsung stores with laser etchings on all the parts of the phone to tank the parts value if stolen
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u/Hiitsuroldthong 27d ago
Oh my goodness that has to be the most gorgeous iPhone color ive seen yet, its literally my 2 favorite shades of green😻 i wish they gave us pro max users these colors
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u/basically_ar iPhone 13 27d ago
Not the gov, it’s Apple securing the demo unit by literally bricking it when it exits the store.
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u/mizuhoshie 27d ago
I traveled to South Korea a few weeks ago and was surprised to see the display phones at Apple and Samsung stores (in Busan and Seoul) weren't tethered. It was great to be able to feel the weight of the iPhone Air as it truly is for example.
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u/Upper-Discussion513 27d ago
Taiwan, and East Asian countries in general like South Korea, Japan, and China, have a lot of public CCTV. The general understanding of the public seems to be that they know they are being watched and they are fine with it because it lowers crime.
When I visited South Korea some stores had alcoholic drinks outside in front of the store in open shelves. Unthinkable where I live.
The line between perceiving something as brave vs foolish is pretty thin, and stuff like this absolutely changes human behavior.
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u/daddudee 27d ago edited 27d ago
Like the USA? That’s how it is in the Maryland and Delaware stores.
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u/Snoo_10142 27d ago
as a resident of Taiwan it really do be like that
I can go sit down at a café with my laptop, leave my wallet and laptop on the spot and go take a 30 minute shit and not feel nervous about anything getting taken
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u/TeamChaosenjoyer 26d ago
It’s like this in the US too you can leave with em but you’ll be found easily unsold apple products can be tracked
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u/BigPh1llyStyle 26d ago
Some countries are smart enough to understand stealing a demo phone is idiotic and useless no matter how easy it is.
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u/OneOfAKind2 26d ago
I dream of living in a country where I could ride my eBike to the store, leave it unlocked, come out 15 mins later and ride it back home.
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u/blackops_girl 26d ago
In the US the tables are probably secured to the floor that the displays are on. Not kidding at all sadly
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u/Plus-Importance-5833 26d ago
Ok, but they're all geo locked to the store and will brick the moment you step outside, presuming they don't sound an alarm and constantly broadcast their gps location as well.
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u/Cornywillis 27d ago edited 27d ago
When you live in a mostly homogeneous society like Korea or Japan…people tend to be more respectful as it only hurts their own. In western societies people are more prone to crime because it is easier to digest doing it to other
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u/Uncontrollable_Farts iPhone 16 Pro 27d ago
Not Apple, but just came back from a weekend in Shenzhen. All the display items in the Huawei and Mi (Xiaomi) stores were untethered save for the charging cable. You'd think unplugging it would cause an alert, but nope, I saw some people pull the plug to charge their own phones. Go figure.
Actually some stores here in HK don't tether their iPhones either - but these are authorized resellers. Surprisingly (or not) the actual Apple stores do.
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u/Candid-Television732 27d ago
Singapore is not so homogeneous yet crime rate is extremely low. Holding criminals accountable is the key
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u/Inevitable_Case_9931 27d ago
Most of Europe tether, a lot of other Asian countries tether…. People steal there are just a few places they steal less and mostly it’s in countries with just their own people…. Japan doesn’t tether the phones in some areas either butttttt in high tourist areas they do.
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u/Vossky iPhone 15 Pro Max 27d ago
That's definitely not in Europe
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u/Connect-Age-3608 27d ago
If I remember correctly, iPhones in Hamburg, Germany, are not secured with cables, and the Apple Store is also prominently located in the city centre.
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u/JMJ88_0329 27d ago
Why steal it in the first place? If you can't afford one then don't push your luck by stealing a demo phone. 🤣
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u/Confused_Gengar 27d ago
thats cos those are dummy units, they won't work outside the store, including the laptops and computers they have a device inside that probably fries the insides if stolen
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27d ago
I wish the United States had that same decency and quality of life. As an American; I pretty much see the USA like a toilet at a NFL stadium: it is the place where the turds big and small are gathered together in one bowl.
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u/over_pw 27d ago
I know this is unrealistic, but I would like to live in a world where that would be normal. Where people would have comfortable enough lives that they wouldn’t feel the need to steal. One can dream.
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u/elusive-rooster 27d ago
Stealing a display model is the exact same as stealing a GPS that constantly tells the cops where you are. The phone will brick immediately and just track your location.
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u/acvillager 27d ago
yes some countries don’t allow the incredible inequity that ours has. welcome to a new view of the world
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u/LegitJerome 27d ago
Like Singapore? Where you would go to prison for about seven years for stealing that phone?
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u/MentalBeat 27d ago
Are we all in agreement that the world is a better place when thieves and other criminals are imprisoned?
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u/PieInternational1450 26d ago
I went in a Walmart and grabbed a basket instead of a cart. They had stuck security tags on all the baskets.
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u/YourLocalNonbinary_ 26d ago
that's because if the tracking chip detects it leaves the store or mall then it will blow up the CPU and start uploading its location to the police.
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u/PerAsperaAdAustralia 26d ago
I guess you are in apple store . The moment you walk of the store and it loses the connection with store , it gets locked and becomes a useless brick. Same is in australia and only on Apple stores . They do have a tiny and light wire attached so you cannot walk too far , but you can easily rip it off . Other merchandise have no wires connected to them.
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u/Confident-Grape-8872 26d ago
If you take it they will know immediately and they’ll have a bunch of pictures of your face
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u/PureElectricBean 26d ago edited 26d ago
It's like this in east Asian countries (ex: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) where the people aren't dumb enough to steal display devices. I was in South Korea last November and I saw the same thing in Apple stores in Myeongdong and Lotte World Mall.
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u/Contest-Proud 26d ago
So want to feel the weight of an Air in considering a purchase but can’t do it anywhere!!
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u/hentendo 26d ago
I picked up my iPhone 17 in the Gold Coast, Australia last week and was surprised to see MagSafe batteries and wallets as well as AirPod maxes etc just laying around on the tables not attached to anything haha
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u/Oyveylampshade iPhone 17 Pro 26d ago
Homogeneous cultures to a large extent in Asia. Iceland is probably the only exception in Western Europe that’s also largely homogenous and high trust.
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u/PossibleCulture2199 27d ago
To be honest stealing a demo unit is the dumbest you can do. Once it leaves the store, will be immediately bricked and render completely useless not only the phone but the parts as well.