Whenever Apple tests new iPhone prototypes, they must be used in real world conditions. But how do you test a prototype in public and still keep it secret? By using a special stealth case. MacRumors got its hands on photos of a special case that Apple uses.
The Case for iPhone Prototypes
A person by the name of Sonny Dickson routinely provides leaks about Apple. His newest leak to MacRumors is the case used for iPhone prototypes. In order to keep the prototype a secret, the case covers most of the phone, except for a small area on the screen. The phone itself is branded with a special QR code to keep track of it too.
There is yellow security tape on the sides, as a way to show if someone tampered with it. The case is carried along with a special “passport” for quality control/assurance tests. According to Sonny:
“Each component or product that is tested they document in the page. The person writes their initials next to it and any notes about it passing or failing or any other comments. It makes its way through each test/person. It then is finally sent with its ‘passport’ from China to Apple.”
Culture of Secrecy
Better than most companies, Apple keeps a tight lid on its operations, and buying/selling/trading Apple leaks has become a sort of shadow industry itself. Whether purposeful or accidentally, leaks eventually seep out of the Cupertino ship, and Steve Jobs is famous for saying “Isn’t it funny that a ship never leaks from the top?”