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> This only exists to create ewaste and pad the bottom line. But it obviously reduces the reward for stealing devices, which probably reduces crime? If a thief
by rogerrogerr 2y ago
> This only exists to create ewaste and pad the bottom line.
But it obviously reduces the reward for stealing devices, which probably reduces crime? If a thief, given the opportunity to steal my iPhone or an Android phone, takes the Android phone because it’s easier to fence - I’ll gladly give Apple money to be part of that group.
- throwaway48476 2y agoI'm not talking about the stolen mode here. Don't strawman me.
- rogerrogerr 2y agoYou asserted “this only exists to pad the bottom line”, and I’m refuting that by giving a reason the feature provides value to me. “Stolen mode” isn’t really a thing with Activation Lock; Apple correctly assumes that the average victim of theft isn’t alert enough to flip some switches in iCloud. Thieves know that iPhones are useless - now even more so - in their default state, and can only be removed from that state with deliberate action from the legitimate owner. That has real life value, and so your accusation that it “only exists to pad the bottom line” is wrong.
- cortesoft 2y agoTheir point is that they make the process to remove the lock more confusing so as to make it so more people accidentally leave it on and brick their used devices. This doesn't mean the theft lock feature itself doesn't have a purpose, just that making it confusing to remove was intentional to decrease hardware reuse.
- schrodinger 2y agoThey have a page exactly for this, first hit on Google for “delete sell iPhone” https://support.apple.com/en-us/109511 https://support.apple.com/en-us/109511
- MBCook 2y agoAs someone who always trades in old devices, I promise you every single reseller willing to buy your phone will have these instruction as part of their “sell to us” process. I’ve used at least 3-4 different places over the years. Send them a locked device, they’ll send it back because it’s unsellable. No legit place is buying locked devices. Which means they don’t sell them.
- Klonoar 2y agoWhat a wild claim to make without any actual proof.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> not talking about the stolen mode here Of course you are. If anyone except the original owner can remove the lock, it’s more valuable to a thief. (Same if the owner can be tricked into removing it or do so accidentally.)
- kelnos 2y ago> But it obviously reduces the reward for stealing devices, which probably reduces crime? It doesn't reduce crime, it just shifts it to easier targets. Instead of figuring out why people commit crimes and making society work better to eliminate those reasons, we just shift the burden around and make things objectively worse for everyone. I get that this is a super hard problem, one that likely can't ever be 100% solved, and Apple isn't responsible for it, but it frustrates me that everything is about controlling symptoms, never about curing the disease.
- buzzerbetrayed 2y agoDon't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. "Convincing everyone in the world to not commit crime" isn't a reasonable ask. What Apple did is actively working.
- MBCook 2y agoRight. There is nothing preventing Samsung or Huawei or Google or anyone else from making a similar system for their phones if it works as intended.
- toast0 2y agoAfaik, they do have similar systems. I had to bypass the Samsung lock on my FIL's old phone, thankfully it was a phone that was possible to bypass because he didn't know his samsung account password (and didn't know he had one) and wasn't getting the reset mails either.
- MBCook 2y agoOh that’s good to know. Thanks.