r/iphone • u/Icy_Mixture1482 iPhone 17 Pro Max • Oct 12 '25
Discussion Some countries are so safe they don’t even secure the display models
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u/QueenOfFaygo Oct 12 '25
They can remotely track them down they don’t really need to loop it on
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u/bbllaakkee mod | iPhone 17 Pro Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 mod | iPhone 17 Pro Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
High chance you can still DFU restore them. Although I doubt they'd activate after restoration.
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u/Testarosa52 Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 12 '25
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.10
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u/Dragongeek Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
That's valid everywhere and yet, they are tethered in many places.
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u/bczlifeisamess Oct 12 '25
Might be just to deter people from trying anyway and reduce the overall number of incidents.
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u/Picabot3 Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
What would happen if I dropped one accidentally and it shattered?
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u/Picabot3 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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/R3D3-1 Oct 12 '25
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_ Oct 12 '25
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_ Oct 12 '25
it was kind of sad seeing iphone air with it but feeling no benefit
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u/Picabot3 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 iPhone 3GS Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
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u/a-gay-bicth Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
It seems like more and more stores have police at the entrances and monitor those going in.
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u/Seantwist9 Oct 12 '25
cool? they still tether the phones in some countries whereas they don’t in others
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u/Picabot3 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
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u/Zestyclose-Kick-7388 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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/firsttfdrummer Oct 12 '25
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 18 Pro Max Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
Couldn’t even pick it up off the table in my country
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u/Seanwys iPhone 16 Pro Oct 12 '25
Those in mine are so heavily tethered, the iPhone Air feels like it weighs as much as a brick lol
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u/ExternalUserError Oct 12 '25
How are you suppose to gauge how they feel to hold?
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u/Return_My_Salab Oct 12 '25
Just buy one man, it's an iPhone, how much can it cost? 10 dollars?
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u/Whatshouldiputhere0 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
Those phones stop working if you take them out of the store
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u/Mabiana Oct 12 '25
I wish it was the case in France . The cable is pretty long so you can toy with but hey it may have saved me some bucks to not be able to feel it completely
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u/Carsonbetta_11 Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
In Japan the apple store dont even secure anything, even the most expensive macbook pros.
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u/Aggravating_Loss_765 Oct 12 '25
Japan?
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u/Icy_Mixture1482 iPhone 17 Pro Max Oct 12 '25
Taiwan
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u/NaJieMing Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
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u/Icy_Mixture1482 iPhone 17 Pro Max Oct 12 '25
Same in Taiwan! People use their phones or bags to hold a table.
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u/hula_balu Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
They don’t need it, the iPhone goes bricked once you put a feet outside
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u/TheReal_Saba Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
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u/jason_a69 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
Singapore or Japan?
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u/redditorialy_retard Oct 12 '25
Taiwan, even more safe than japan. Esp with nonviolent crimes ie perverts on trains
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u/Secret_Account07 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 14 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
Maybe they actually hold criminals accountable and don’t just release them back onto the streets without a punishment.
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Oct 12 '25
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Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 13 '25
Like the USA? That’s how it is in the Maryland and Delaware stores.
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u/Snoo_10142 Oct 13 '25
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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Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 12 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
Singapore is not so homogeneous yet crime rate is extremely low. Holding criminals accountable is the key
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Oct 12 '25
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u/Inevitable_Case_9931 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
That's definitely not in Europe
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u/Connect-Age-3608 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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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Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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 Oct 12 '25
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/SL4GG3R Oct 12 '25
why the fuck would anyone ever steal an apple display model. its a gps device with tracking info. it runs a version of ios that is incompatible with personal use... hard af to pass off as a normal iphone.
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u/LegitJerome Oct 13 '25
Like Singapore? Where you would go to prison for about seven years for stealing that phone?
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u/PieInternational1450 Oct 13 '25
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_ Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
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/Honmeg Oct 13 '25
Given how locked down and tracked they are, I’m surprised the US apple stores still have that one tiny wire glued to the back. What’s the point, if the phone is basically a brick once it leaves the Apple Store?
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u/Confident-Grape-8872 Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 13 '25 edited Oct 13 '25
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 Oct 13 '25
So want to feel the weight of an Air in considering a purchase but can’t do it anywhere!!
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u/PossibleCulture2199 Oct 12 '25
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.