UK wants Apple to stop its stolen iPhones problem

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The United Kingdom is urging companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google to find a solution to prevent phone thefts in London. The idea is to make it harder for thieves to steal phones in the first place, so they can't easily sell them. This request was made by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and police chief Sir Mark Rowley during a recent meeting. They spoke to Apple and told them that they should find a viable solution that would stop making iPhones such a lucrative target for thieves.

In the past year, London has seen a 28% increase in mobile phone thefts, with an average of 157 phones stolen every day - 57,174 stolen phones in a year.

Khan considers this meeting with tech companies as a significant step toward finding a long-term solution to the problem of mobile phone theft, which not only affects London but also the entire UK. He believes that instead of relying solely on the police to handle these thefts, tech companies like Apple should make it more challenging and less profitable for criminals to sell stolen phones, Daily Mail reported.

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The police are working closely with the mobile phone industry to create innovative technological solutions that would make stolen phones less appealing and harder for thieves to use.

Thieves often target high-value devices, such as Apple's top-of-the-line iPhones like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, as people use them for calls and navigation while walking around London. Although arrests have been made, the problem persists because the phones are still attractive to thieves. To break this cycle, they want to "design out" the ability for stolen phones to be used, which would deter criminals.

It's worth noting that Apple's iOS software already includes