Apple has started giving retail employees a device that scans a boxed iPhone and runs diagnostics on it without breaking the seal, according to Mark Gurman in a newsletter.
The target is a return scam. Gurman said some customers buy an iPhone or another Apple product, then pull accessories from the box, open the device and take out components, or remove the whole device, and bring back the box hoping nobody checks. Until now, he said, store employees were generally told to open a returned box and verify what was inside.
The new device is meant to replace that step for iPhones. Gurman described it as able to "scan an in-box iPhone and run diagnostics on it to make sure the phone is fully intact, leaving the box sealed and able to be put back into inventory." Apple began sending it to stores earlier this month, he said, and he framed it as a way to cut down on wasted inventory.
The logic is straightforward. Opening every returned box is slow, and the pitch here is that a box left sealed can go straight back on the shelf. Checking returns by hand is how most retailers handle this, so a scanner trades staff time for hardware.
The limits are worth noting. The source says the diagnostic confirms the phone is "fully intact" and says nothing about how it works or what it flags. It also does not say whether the device can detect missing accessories, which Gurman listed as one form of the scam. And while the scam reportedly covers other products, the device is described only for iPhones.
That leaves a practical question: whether Apple extends the scanner beyond phones, or keeps opening boxes for everything else.