back to article Stolen an Apple watch? Want to pawn it off? Good news!

Apple's $17,000 watch is shockingly easy to re-use when stolen – so much so that it's sure to be an even more attractive target to thieves than iPhones. Multiple reports show that the Cupertinian arm candy lacks any sort of remote wipe or locking ability. What's more, they can easily be wiped and paired with a new phone …

  1. Bleu

    I don't think

    anvbody silly and spoilt enough to have the $17,000 edition is likely to be exposed to the usual level of urban terror your governments encourage.

    1. Crazy Operations Guy

      Re: I don't think

      Obviously you haven't seen the $70,000 Escalades that cruise around the bad side of town...

      1. Dan Paul

        Re: I don't think

        Yeah, but the people that are able to afford the Escalades in THAT section of town ARE the criminals!

    2. MrDamage Silver badge

      Re: I don't think

      I take it you haven't heard of the term "slumming it".

      Nor do you appear to read/watch the news. Rich people get mugged and robbed quite often. Due to their status, they actually make better targets than the poor. Funny how that goes.

    3. Hellcat

      Re: I don't think

      Try telling that to Bernie Ecclestone, although I guess he wouldn't be seen dead with a cheap-ass $17,000 watch on his wrist!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Version 1.0

    Good thing for the criminals the software can't be updated and Apple has sold 100s of millions of these so they're everywhere.

    Oh wait, neither is true, so what does it matter? Even if they never fix it, that just puts it on par with every other wearable on the market, let alone true watches. Or do Rolex and Phillippe Patek have some secret way of remote disablement of their five and six figure watches I'm not aware of?

    1. Deltics

      Re: Version 1.0

      Except that you don't have to take your Rolex/Patek/etc watch off during the day and leave it on your desk recharging.

      Not to mention and perhaps more pertinently, from a distance it would be quite difficult for a potential watch nabber to pick out a Rolex from among the Citizens, Seikos and generic brand bling watches et al so their chances of selecting a rewarding target for their wrist-snatch job (oo-er missus) are pretty slim.

      An Apple Stupid-Tax Wrist Device advertises itself far more obviously, and it's use only makes it even more visible. Where-as someone with a Rolex seen tapping their watch is indistinguishable from someone with a Swatch - they just look like someone with a watch on the fritz (broken).

      1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

        Re: Version 1.0

        Not to mention and perhaps more pertinently, from a distance it would be quite difficult for a potential watch nabber to pick out a Rolex from among the Citizens, Seikos and generic brand bling watches et al so their chances of selecting a rewarding target for their wrist-snatch job (oo-er missus) are pretty slim.

        I suspect that of someone specialises in this sort of activity they will have also developed an eye for the right watch. The clues are not just the watch, but also generally what the target wears.

        1. Deltics

          Re: Version 1.0

          Sure, some Rolex watchers are Conspicuous Consumers, but many more are not.

          Apple Stupipd Tax device owners are like Nigerian Email scammer victims - they are self selecting for their own stupidity. They are buying a device for no other reason than to show it off and will do so at every possible opportunity.

          Sure there are some Chav's who buy a Rolex for the same reason, although usually those types will buy a knock off, rather than the real thing so someone conspicuously wearing a Rolex disqualifies themselves as a target (they are more likely to be a chav waving the latest "Ralex").

      2. Handy Plough

        Re: Version 1.0

        "Except that you don't have to take your Rolex/Patek/etc watch off during the day and leave it on your desk recharging."

        Neither do you with the Apple Watch you bell-end. Dunning-Kruger is strong in this one...

    2. Cornholio
      Headmaster

      Re: Version 1.0

      > Or do Rolex and Phillippe Patek

      Patek Philippe

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Version 1.0

        > Patek Philippe

        Patrick Stewart

    3. bex

      Re: Version 1.0

      Released with an obvious flaw to anyone with a brain, seems reckless to me.

  3. Dana W
    Trollface

    Ah yes, El Reg, where mentioning Apple never fails to produce a fine whine, made from the best of sour grapes.

  4. StephenH
    Pirate

    I've been wearing a $38 Chinese knock-off for a few months, certainly from before the Apple version become available. It's gold looking but has a cheap band - I have been asked about it 3 times by shop employees.

    Now I wonder if it's making me a target for a mugging.

    (BTW It's andorid only and fairly functional )

  5. werdsmith Silver badge

    Another Apple watch item.

    Yawn.

    If you mush steal a watch, then steal one that will still be valuable in 10 years.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      What? If you're going to steal a watch, you don't give a damn what it'll be worth in ten years - you only care what you can get for it that week.

      We're talking common thievery here, not investment.

  6. Tromos

    I have an idea

    To prevent theft, why not strap it to your wrist?

    1. Obitim
      Facepalm

      Re: I have an idea

      While it may prevent theft, robbery is a different matter

    2. chivo243 Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: I have an idea

      the same way a courier has the briefcase chained to his wrist, then the crims cut his hand off to get the briefcase? Cool!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I have an idea

        the same way a courier has the briefcase chained to his wrist, then the crims cut his hand off to get the briefcase? Cool!

        You've been watching too many movies. Such thefts tend to require speed, and it's far quicker to cut a chain than it is to chop off a wrist (and the required gear is easier to explain away, at least during daytime). Also, when caught it's just theft instead of adding grievous bodily harm to the charges.

  7. Bleu

    Nobody will read this

    but I find it amusing that Prince Andy Pandy of Windsor seems to have been the first person to have been in the press wearing the ridiculously expensive version of this throwaway device. Does Apple Corpse guarantee updating the working hardware for the ludicrously expensive model?

    Was it a gift? From Apple?

    England's notorious tabloids should be investigating this.

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