A letter from Apple received by a Chinese citizen reveals the motives behind the company’s latest campaign against leaks posted on media and social media.
The leaks have become part of any Apple release; It is understandable, considering the popularity of their products, that there is such a demand to hear about their news before anyone else. In the case of iPhones, it reaches ridiculous levels: there are already rumors about the iPhone generation that will arrive in 2022 , and that of 2021 has not yet been presented.
Although Apple has implemented measures against these leaks, there is always a “weak link”, a factory employee who decides to share drawings, or an accessory manufacturer who publishes their products ahead of time. But in recent weeks, these actions against the leaks have multiplied, and the reason is surprising.
Motherboard has had access to a “cease and desist” letter, received by a Chinese user accused of advertising in social networks stolen or leaked iPhone prototypes; It is a first step before taking legal measures, in which the user is encouraged to delete their publications and abandon this type of practice due to the damage it entails for Apple and its allies.
To demonstrate that damage, Apple states in the letter that these publications do not surprise the public when the products arrive on the market , something that is part of the “DNA of the company.” It is true that recent Apple presentations have had few surprises, although the company always manages to put something that had not been leaked.
More surprising is the following reason: Apple claims that the leaks affect case manufacturers because they can develop products that are not compatible with the end device. In other words, Apple confirms that many accessory brands use the leaks as the basis for designing their products ahead of time to get them ready for launch.
This is something that we have already seen many times, with cases available even before the new iPhone is presented, based on designs published on the Internet. The problem, according to Apple, is that the size of the device can change between the leak and the official announcement, so the accessories will not fit and will be useless.
The next iPhone will have the camera and fingerprint reader under the screen
It is interesting that Apple lists third parties as affected by these leaks, although these companies probably disagree. After all, it is this data that allows them to launch products at the same time as Apple; Without these leaks, only Apple itself, and the brands it deals with, could offer iPhone cases for the first few weeks, or even months.
Therefore, this can also be seen as an attempt by Apple to end or reduce the market for third-party cases, considering that it loses money if users do not buy one of its official cases.
