Apple Security Feature Reboots Phones After 72 Hours of Inactivity

Apple reportedly added a security feature to its latest iPhone operating system, iOS 18, that reboots the phone after it has remained unlocked for 72 hours.

This feature puts the phone in a more secure state, making it harder for thieves with less sophisticated forensic tooling to unlock a stolen phone, while also giving law enforcement three days to access the data of a criminal’s phone, TechCrunch reported Thursday (Nov. 14).

Rebooting the phone puts the device in a state into which its data remains encrypted and nearly impossible to access without the user’s passcode, according to the report.

This report comes about two months after Apple unveiled its new smartphone lineup, iPhone 16, and its suite of artificial intelligence (AI) features called Apple Intelligence.

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are built to harness the power of Apple Intelligence, are powered by the company’s new A18 chip that promises a leap in performance and efficiency, and introduce a Camera Control feature that introduces new ways to capture memories and helps users quickly access visual intelligence to learn about objects or places around them.

At the same time, it was reported in October that enthusiasm about the iPhone has dipped slightly. Investment firm Piper Sandler found that 22% of teenagers planned to upgrade their phones to an iPhone 16 in the coming months, down from 23% in 2023 and 24% in 2022.

Among the teens who plan to upgrade their phones, 29% said they were doing so because of Apple Intelligence — a percentage that Piper Sandler said “feels low given the enthusiasm.” Just one out of six teenagers said they were not aware of the AI tool.

It was reported in September that some analysts were hopeful that the launch of Apple Intelligence would trigger a “super cycle” for the iPhone 16, creating a wave of upgrades after a long period of demand.

Others are skeptical that the addition of the AI features will do so, citing consumer caution in China and around the world, the fact that the new iPhones look almost identical to the previous models, and consumers’ lack of familiarity with AI.

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