Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
It's a non-issue because it's securely strapped to your wrist. Phones are an easy target because it's easy to pick pocket, or to grab out of a purse, or to just grab it right out of someone's hands as they're using it.

Stealing a watch requires you to be willing to do more than just basic robbery and actually assault or threaten someone. Obviously people willing to commit such crimes exist, but I think they are a minority among those willing to steal.

Perhaps in USA or east Europe where thieves usually opt for not pointing a gun in your face.
 
You are a pickpocket's dream. You think they're going to announce that they're going to try to pickpocket you? There are a million tricks to get inside someone's personal space without setting off any alarms.

exactly. these guys are really good at their "job"! the first time i experienced it first hand i couldnt actually believe it. i always thought hollywood movies are exaggerating but its actually happening as shown in these movies. i had no idea her hand was in my pocket and only noticed that she grabbed my phone with creditcard and everything inside cuz i had it tied to my belt. slept it right out of her hand, thank god
 
Why is only Apple Watch singled out?

EVERY smart watch and NON-smart watch - even those costing thousands of dollars more - operates in the same way. Lose the watch, or get it stolen, someone else can use it like it was theirs.

Every Rolex, Timex, Moto 360.... all work the same way. Why single out Apple Watch?

This is an Apple news site.

Aren't you the same people who complain when Google or anyone is mentioned besides Apple on the front page?

The irony of an Apple fanboy.
 
They can easily fix this with an update.

Just make the watch pair with your Apple ID when paired with the phone.

Then only allow an 'on watch recovery wipe' when paired with a phone signed in with your Apple ID (with a toggle setting akin to find my iPhone).

If both phone and watch get stolen, they'd be useless without unlocking the phone via PIN or Fingerprint.

This should have already been in watchOS v1 imho.

Of course this would only work if you set up a PIN on your watch in the first place, same as the iPhone.

As for the person stating that holding your finder under the watch negates security, well I'd definitely know if someone has their finger lodged between my watch and wrist.

*edit* I submitted this idea as feedback to Apple.
 
Last edited:
How, exactly would this be implemented?

Someone who steals something you're wearing must DO THIS BY FORCE. Correct? What would stop them from getting your passcode from you as well? You're being threatened by a punch/knife/gun, you'll give up the passcode as well. Now the watch is theirs.

There is nothing Apple can do about this.

Cell phone theft where you place the cell phone down and someone takes it is another issue altogether.

Apple can enhance the "Lost" mode on Find My iPhone for Apple Watch. When stolen watch is put in the "Lost" mode, all features are locked and it won't be able to do anything except display "lost" message.

Any attempts to re-activate the watch (even after erase/reset) will fail if it is in "lost" mode.
 
Notmtrue

It's a non-issue because it's securely strapped to your wrist. Phones are an easy target because it's easy to pick pocket, or to grab out of a purse, or to just grab it right out of someone's hands as they're using it.

Stealing a watch requires you to be willing to do more than just basic robbery and actually assault or threaten someone. Obviously people willing to commit such crimes exist, but I think they are a minority among those willing to steal.

Tell that to the senior lady who was killed for her iphone in a "good area" of Chicago getting off the L platform near DePaul University in the afternoon
 
Apple can enhance the "Lost" mode on Find My iPhone for Apple Watch. When stolen watch is put in the "Lost" mode, all features are locked and it won't be able to do anything except display "lost" message.

Any attempts to re-activate the watch (even after erase/reset) will fail if it is in "lost" mode.

How is this possible when it's out of range of the watch? Unless someone on the same wifi network steals it.
 
Apple can enhance the "Lost" mode on Find My iPhone for Apple Watch. When stolen watch is put in the "Lost" mode, all features are locked and it won't be able to do anything except display "lost" message.

Any attempts to re-activate the watch (even after erase/reset) will fail if it is in "lost" mode.

Apple Watch doesn't have GPS. If it's out of contact with your phone then there can be no option to wipe it.

Gen 1 oversight.
 
You are a pickpocket's dream. You think they're going to announce that they're going to try to pickpocket you? There are a million tricks to get inside someone's personal space without setting off any alarms.

Funny, I'm sure that if I actually inquired about watch robberies around here (very large city); I'd have a very very small number. Yet, people here are seemingly all "worried" about such things.

Yes, crooks can steal your expensive toys, just like they can steal all other watches or jewelry out there and just about all smart phones, without fear. This is a big duh...

Also, while there are maybe 100000 tricks, they most often use 2-3...

Because why do it complicated when a simple works so well... And also, you overestimate the skill set of most of the crooks who do this.

Most use the natural environment instead of creating a situation.
Crowded spaces, distracted people, lots escape routes, obstacles to pursuit.
- Terraces bordering sidewalk, pedestrian malls, public transit, rush hour sidewalk crowd, malls during holidays, amusement parks, beaches, waiting lines of any sort, large crowds in tight spaces of any sort.

Most phone thefts are snatch and grabs.

Stealing from bags can be done by pick-pocketing in tight quarters, or simply using a sharp knife and cutting your bag open and stealing from it. Not very subtle.

Carrying your valuables in front of you, or being your back to a wall, usually helps with these.

In any case, a very small number of those kind of thefts are watches. Stealing a watch is usually more work. You undoubtedly could cut the sport band off the wrist of someone with a slash, but you'd also risk injuring the owner seriously and going to prison for a major assault. If your more subtle and unclasps it (only works well if hand is hanging down), in many case you have to slide the watch over the hand to take it off (not easy to do without noticing). I usually hold something in my right hand (the one with the watch) or hold my right hand forward over my purse, pretty bad position to remove a watch.

Of course, there are tag teams (one who does the big crazy gesture, like say grab your butt...) as a distraction for a smaller, yet significant gesture (put hand on wrist/forearm). Those would probably steal not just your watch but your underwear too... But, those are the true "artists" and are thankfully rare.
 
Last edited:
Maybe because nobody cares. Would it be better if it had an anti-theft protection. Of course. Will it cause people to not buy an apple watch. NOPE. Just like it didn't prevent people from not buying iPhones before.
Will apple haters make a stink about it? Yes, yes it will.

We're 6 pages deep. Somebody cares.;) Not sure why you're talking about watch and phone sales though. I think people are more surprised than anything else. With Apple's stance on security, I think it's reasonable to assume they would have made it a part of the thought process with the watch. Even if a software solution is an easy fix, it would seem more Apple-like for that solution to be present at the onset.
 
How much data is actually stored on the watch though, isn't it basically a remote control and sensor to the iPhone? Apple watch, like any watch is vulnerable to theft, yeah.
 
Funny, I'm sure that if I actually inquired about watch robberies around here (very large city); I'd have a very very small number. Yet, people here are seemingly all "worried" about such things.

Yes, crooks can steal your expensive toys, just like they can steal all other watches or jewelry out there and just about all smart phones, without fear. This is a big duh...

Also, while there are maybe 100000 tricks, they most often use 2-3...

Because why do it complicated when a simple works so well... And also, you overestimate the skill set of most of the crooks who do this.

Most use the natural environment instead of creating a situation.
Crowded spaces, distracted people, lots escape routes, obstacles to pursuit.
- Terraces bordering sidewalk, pedestrian malls, public transit, rush hour sidewalk crowd, malls during holidays, amusement parks, beaches, waiting lines of any sort, large crowds in tight spaces of any sort.

Most phone thefts are snatch and grabs.

Stealing from bags can be done by pick-pocketing in tight quarters, or simply using a sharp knife and cutting your bag open and stealing from it. Not very subtle.

Carrying your valuables in front of you, or being your back to a wall, usually helps with these.

In any case, a very small number of those kind of thefts are watches. Stealing a watch is usually more work. You undoubtedly could cut the sport band off the wrist of someone with a slash, but you'd also risk injuring the owner seriously and going to prison for a major assault. If your more subtle and unclasps it (only works well if hand is hanging down), in many case you have to slide the watch over the hand to take it off (not easy to do without noticing). I usually hold something in my right hand (the one with the watch) or hold my right hand forward over my purse, pretty bad position to remove a watch.

Of course, there are tag teams (one who does the big crazy gesture, like say grab your butt...) as a distraction for a smaller, yet significant gesture (put hand on wrist/forearm). Those would probably steal not just your watch but your underwear too... But, those are the true "artists" and are thankfully rare.

There are some cities where people are brazen enough to actually jump you and steal whatever you have. I live in one such city.

The technology is there to thwart these possible situations in the watch.

The thieves aren't going to jump you for something they know will be worthless to them if locked out. Hence the reduced iPhone related thefts after activation lock.
 
There are 3 people in my office that have one (including me) -- so we make up 60% of the Apple Watches in the wild?

Wow!!!

Two of my colleagues and myself have the other 3 Applewatches. So we make up the other 60% of the Apple watch in the wild. So it's 120% of 100% of all Apple watches in the wild! Now that's wild!
 
Seems like this is all addressable and probably will be.

I just recently purchased a new vehicle and I am really shocked that my $700 cell phone has more anti-theft features than my $20,000 vehicle. I guess that is what insurance is for... :rolleyes:
 
It's a non-issue because it's securely strapped to your wrist. Phones are an easy target because it's easy to pick pocket, or to grab out of a purse, or to just grab it right out of someone's hands as they're using it.

Stealing a watch requires you to be willing to do more than just basic robbery and actually assault or threaten someone. Obviously people willing to commit such crimes exist, but I think they are a minority among those willing to steal.

Some pick-pockets are good enough to steal a watch from somebody's arm (a good distraction is shaking somebody's hand while using your free hand to unbuckle the watch).
 
There are some cities where people are brazen enough to actually jump you and steal whatever you have. I live in one such city.

The technology is there to thwart these possible situations in the watch.

The thieves aren't going to jump you for something they know will be worthless to them if locked out.

OTOH if a robber is aware of an activation lock they can just force you to give it to them no?

Perhaps it's possible to lock it to the device it's paired to? I hate passwords.
 
I expect we'll see an update soon to fix this oversight. I think that Apple worked very hard to get the Apple Watch out of the gate and is going to be taking some time to smooth out the edges. Something like this can be updated so all existing owners will benefit. Other issues will be just the cost of being on that bleeding edge. *shrug*
 
Theft only happens in the ghetto? Fox News teach you that?

Well, I do live in a Fox News "no go" zone, I should probably be careful...

But, seriously, from experience, most of the thieves do not operate in "ghettos". Because in a "ghetto", people are poor, it would take a very stupid thief to go do his business there... The spots where you're the most likely to be stolen from are not ghettos, they're touristic area, most specifically high end touristic areas : you have easy targets with lots of valuable on them and a no street wise in respect to the local culture.

For instance, in Paris, the only place where I'm very careful of my belongings are the Champs Elysées, they literally crawl with thieves. The "no go" zones in Paris from Fox News are pretty safe on the other hand.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.