The New York Police Department has dispatched officers to upgrade iPhone users to iOS 7 .
Several reports on Twitter have revealed officers walking down the streets of NYC while stopping iPhone users. Officers are super-impressed with the OS’ new security features and are touting its features to Apple smartphone owners.
The move to promote the iOS 7 platform arrives after New York’s attorney general demanded better mobile device security from Apple and other smartphone manufacturers. The Attorney General was most concerned about theft and device recovery, two areas that have been directly addresses with the iOS 7 platform.
Devices running on the iOS 7 platform can be remotely secured, requiring that the device’s associated Apple ID and password be entered. Once entered the device is wiped clean.
Essentially iOS 7 devices become unusable when lost, making them less attractive to mobile device thieves. The NYPD hopes the lack of remote use will stop the practice of “Apple picking,” which has become a major problem throughout New York.
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has directly blamed the city’s first crime hike in two decades on Apple device theft. The NYPD already runs a division responsible for recovering Apple devices.
Apple iOS 7 upgrades are available to anyone with the Apple iPhone 4 and higher. The company’s new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C devices come pre-loaded with iOS 7.
In a joint statement last week, the New York attorney general and the San Francisco district attorney wrote that iOS 7 “is an important first step towards ending the global epidemic of smartphone theft.”
Apple traditionally has a very high rate of adoption among its users, which should help legacy users quickly convert to the new iOS 7 platform.
Here’s a tweet showcasing the flier NYPD officers are handing out to Apple iPhone users:
Four uniformed NYPD officers were at my subway stop tonight asking me to upgrade to iOS 7. Not a joke! pic.twitter.com/CGdR2RqtKJ
— Michael Hoffman (@Hoffm) September 21, 2013
Do you think sending out NYPD officers to urge iOS 7 upgrades is a smart use of taxpayer dollars?
