Apple stores have always had one thing that made them characteristic, products are exposed for you to touch and use. Something that many others have copied in recent years.
So much is Apple's interest in letting us test its products in stores that, in countries like the UK and Canada, there is not even a cable grabbing the devices.
Of course, this trust by Apple in its customers is affected by the untrustworthy, that Thieves that take the devices from the tables and run away and that each time they have it easier.
It is true that Apple can block any iPhone or iPad that is stolen in one of its stores, as we can do with "Find my iPhone". But now they have decided to do something else.
A new Apple patent shows us how they would create a "security zone" using the antennas of Wi-Fi networks and knowing if the devices move away from them or if, finally, they completely leave the security zone (of the store).
Apple would show different notices on the device screen when you are approaching the limit of the safety zone. And, if you leave the store completely for more than a few minutes, the device would stop responding (the screen, the buttons, etc.) and would show a warning like: “This iPhone has been taken out of a store, please call us to help you return it ”or“ This device has been permanently blocked due to being removed without permission from a store ”.
In addition, the patent that Patently Apple reveals to us also mentions how These devices could make use of public Wi-Fi networks, and even the Bluetooth or mobile network, to send a message with their location to Apple and thus try to recover it and report it.