Apple Crackdown Suspected After iPhone 18 Pro Leak Videos Disappear

[MacRumors]

Apple could be taking action to limit the spread of leaked iPhone 18 Pro video footage that surfaced online following a recent cyberattack targeting Tata Electronics, one of Apple's manufacturing partners in India.

Over the last day, video clips that apparently showed an iPhone 18 Pro undergoing drop testing began appearing on X (Twitter). The clips appeared to show a silver-gray iPhone 18 Pro model with a more uniform rear aesthetic than the current iPhone 17 Pro's two-tone design. The device had the expected three-camera rear array, but the lenses appeared to protrude more from the plateau than on the iPhone 17 Pro. The Apple logo on the back of the device also appeared to have a reflective finish.

The clips were initially shared by an account using the @EvLeaks handle and were reposted by Ice Universe, but the posts have been taken down by X, citing a violation of the platform's rules. The @EvLeaks account has since been suspended.

Evan Blass, who was previously associated with the EvLeaks name, says he has "nothing to do with the new @EvLeaks account nor the purported iPhone leak posted there." Blass added: "Looks like Apple may have done what Samsung never could," likely referring back to the hundreds of Samsung leaks that Blass himself has been able to freely make public unimpeded over the years.

It is not clear whether the posts were removed at Apple's request or Tata's request, or because the videos were later believed to be fake.

Elsewhere, over in China, Ice Universe claimed on Weibo that Apple had "already banned the leaked data on Twitter."

Apple has not publicly commented on the removals, but the videos appeared to be genuine based on similar descriptions provided by Reuters.

The alleged leaked footage follows the outlet's report that Apple is "concerned" about confidential files stolen from Tata Electronics and circulated on the dark web. Reuters said the leaked files included Apple-watermarked documents, component details, supplier information, codenames, and images of iPhone 18 Pro models during drop testing. Apple is said to be investigating the incident and working with Tata on long-term measures to improve security.

We are not sharing the videos or images of them here out of caution, though some are still circulating online. They may not last the day, however. The speed of the takedowns, if instigated by Apple, may indicate that the company is moving more aggressively than usual in the face of a major data breach in order to prevent further spread.

Alternatively, it could be that the videos simply originated from an X account that was suspended for impersonating someone else, and they where later deemed to be fakes for that reason. We should know for sure when the iPhone 18 Pro is released in September.

Article Link: Apple Crackdown Suspected After iPhone 18 Pro Leak Videos Disappear

 

[Knightcastle]

Easy enough to find the videos with a quick Google search.

Apple’s response is having a Streisand Effect here.

 

[963852741]

Bending is crazy after a drop. Damn aluminium in a "Pro" device.

 

[AppleTO]

Luckily for Apple, the phones look basically the same. Too bad the fold wasn’t one of them.

 

[SmugMaverick]

Bending is crazy after a drop. Damn aluminium in a "Pro" device.

Looked awful, and they'll charge a lot more as well for lesser materials.

Luckily for Apple, the phones look basically the same. Too bad the fold wasn’t one of them.

Looked fatter and like a brick.

Hopefully its the last of the Jeff Williams led hardware this year.

 

[contacos]

I saw the video earlier and couldn't really tell a difference

 

[SRQrws]

The real story here is once again some jackass hackers have stolen property and gotten away with it (at least for now). Why this isn't treated as an international top-priority problem is concerning. If a thief robs a bank, he's caught and severely punished, but thousands of hackers get away with scams, theft and general mayhem every single day.

 

[963852741]

The real story here is once again some jackass hackers have stolen property and gotten away with it (at least for now). Why this isn't treated as an international top-priority problem is concerning. If a thief robs a bank, he's caught and severely punished, but thousands of hackers get away with scams, theft and general mayhem every single day.

It's just a phone, mate.

 

[SRQrws]

It's just a phone, mate.

No, it's not just a phone, "mate." My post clearly refers to all internet scams, theft, phishing, phone scams, etc., which impact millions of people each year. The costs are astronomical.

 

[963852741]

No, it's not just a phone, "mate." My post clearly refers to all internet scams, theft, phishing, phone scams, etc., which impact millions of people each year. The costs are astronomical.

Yuo are talking about utopia.

 

[winxmac]

I'm not going to be surprised that the 20th anniversary iPhone will also have an actual video leaked in the future a few months before the announcement.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Wow, flashback to the good old days where one knew an Apple rumor was real because Apple busted out the C&D letters.

 

[555gallardo]

Whoa, brace ourselves - a video of a mobile phone that looks exactly like a bambillion of others, appeared on the internet.

 

[uacd]

The clips were initially shared by an account using the @EvLeaks handle and were reposted by Ice Universe, but the posts have been taking down by X, citing a violation of the platform's rules. The @EvLeaks account has since been suspended.

Freedom of speech huh. Fine job Elmo😁. You can post everything, even p*rn, before it is a threat to someone's corporate interests or IP. No, no I mean I technically understand that they all try to make themself safe, but there is an unwritten rule: you can't erase something from the Internet, it will just reflect in thousands of mirrors. P.S: more than sure Reddit is already full of those leaked videos and photos.

Also it is kinda weird to try and curb leaks at this point, in few months this "iPhone 17s" is getting released, like whats the point if for the last 10 years or even more we have had every major iPhone release leaked more than 7 month before release date

 

[martin2345uk]

Imagine if people find out it looks exactly the same as the 17 Pro.. !??

 

[Minato1990]

Yeah it looks like meh
Its nothing like that iPhone 4 leak. Apple will be fine they need to chill out.

 

[thadoggfather]

Freedom of speech huh. Fine job Elmo😁. You can post everything, even p*rn, before it is a threat to someone's corporate interests or IP. No, no I mean I technically understand that they all try to make themself safe, but there is an unwritten rule: you can't erase something from the Internet, it will just reflect in thousands of mirrors. P.S: more than sure Reddit is already full of those leaked videos and photos.

Also it is kinda weird to try and curb leaks at this point, in few months this "iPhone 17s" is getting released, like whats the point if for the last 10 years or even more we have had every major iPhone release leaked more than 7 month before release date

What a bizarre take, the footage is stolen property part of a massive cyber attack. Has nothing to do with free speech.

Also, it could materially shift AAPL's price and sales of products. People might opt for 17 pro now, while thinking 18 pro will be very samey and ostensibly with a massive price hike that doesn't justify for being an S-cycle. Low 18 pro sales / quarter results in turn will project a company that's on a downturn more than the general current economic outlook.

Even if those of us at MR already suspect these things, the average person / 'normie' might not have awareness.
Well now they do.

It's only Apple's most popular product and their core IP. Of course they should and do care, even though you think they shouldn't and it's not a big deal.

The supply chain implications are really bad too. They trusted this supplier in India to have a bare minimum of security and now they have to re-evaluate what the best path forward is for diversification. Gives per view into their components / suppliers / negotiation side of the house. And open season for bootleggers, part thieves, and just general bad actor opportunists.

We also don't know what else will trickle out: future vision headset plans, more laptops like the next Air and Pro, the Ultra/fold, iPhone Air 2, base iPhone 18, some completely out of left field thing?

Even some iPad mini details have surfaced out of this.

--

This is way bigger leak than an iPhone 4 being left in a bar and re-sold to a tech blog, to be honest.

 

[uacd]

Whoa, brace ourselves - a video of a mobile phone that looks exactly like a bambillion of others, appeared on the internet.

Yeah I start to believe leaks are fully controlled and Apple is playing "bad PR" game.

It looked especially fun in iPhone 11-16 era when what was leaked essentially looked the same😂
I am glad their hardware designers and engineers came up with such an lazy phone as 17 Pro though, I guess we can bet they will use that poor design for the next 5 years.

When iPhone 4 was leaked it was a big deal and everyone stood in lines to get one. When 5 - it was even nicer. And 6 was also very popular. But after that it all went boring, I can't recall people camping around Apple Stores ever since iPhone 6

 

[uacd]

What a bizarre take, the footage is stolen property part of a massive cyber attack. Has nothing to do with free speech.

Also, it could materially shift AAPL's price and sales of products. People might opt for 17 pro now, while thinking 18 pro will be very samey and ostensibly with a massive price hike that doesn't justify for being an S-cycle. Low 18 pro sales in turn will project a company that's on a downturn more than the general current economic outlook.

Even if those of us at MR already suspect these things, the average person / 'normie' might not have awareness. Well now they do.

It's only Apple's most popular product and their core IP. Of course they care, even though you think they shouldn't.

The supply chain implications are really bad too. They trusted this supplier in India to have a bare minimum of security and now they have to re-evaluate what the best path forward is for diversification.

Sure, I do agree. It is all bad. I just mean that they should have thought beforehand. But Apple has been lax on leak culture for many years and I believe they have long needed to increase secrecy of their stuff. Competitors are not sleeping too - their supply chain analysts look to what Apple is up to, take their notes and release their solutions faster than Apple. In fact Apple's products no more look as innovative as they used to.

Thus they don't really have other choice but to "enjoy the leaks".

I smh suspected that moving manufacturing to India might end up in some sort of leak, however it was still worth it - further risks are much more dangerous than any data leaks and cybercrimes out there, world is very unstable these days in geopolitical sense

 

[thadoggfather]

Thus they don't really have other choice but to "enjoy the leaks".

I smh suspected that moving manufacturing to India might end up in some sort of leak, however it was still worth it - further risks are much more dangerous than any data leaks and cybercrimes out there, world is very unstable these days in geopolitical sense

They activated a fleet of lawyers that will do anything but 'enjoy the leaks' lol.

We can't really evaluate whether it was 'worth it' or not - there are surely other supply chain companies than Tata in India, and they could've opted for one that did have their house in order.

The shift to India for manufacturing is relatively new compared to China / Foxconn / Pegatron, etc.

I don't think we can characterize an entire country, but rather, the specific partner they went with.
Cybersecurity is rather nation agnostic.

 

[Hkfan45]

Apple is probably more worried about the public learning they massively increased the price on a phone which is a very minor upgrade over the 17.

 

[svish]

Huge leak. Definitely not surprising to see Apple taking all the possible actions.

 

[Adamj53]

Dead easy to find online! I quite like the more uniform colour, but as my phone is in a solid case its not a reason to upgrade!!

 

[boswald]

No, it's not just a phone, "mate." My post clearly refers to all internet scams, theft, phishing, phone scams, etc., which impact millions of people each year. The costs are astronomical.

I often wonder where these cases end up. You hear about "X store was breached, data available on dark web" but that's it. No consequences, no reparations to the victims, no further coverage. Where do they go? Why aren't some of these people named and shamed? I guess it's too "nerdy" for John Q. Public to give a crap, but those of us (like us here) who follow tech and gadgets would like to know these people can't further their own selfish agendas.

 

[klasma]

The real story here is once again some jackass hackers have stolen property and gotten away with it (at least for now). Why this isn't treated as an international top-priority problem is concerning. If a thief robs a bank, he's caught and severely punished, but thousands of hackers get away with scams, theft and general mayhem every single day.

They didn’t steal it, the original data is still there.