Tech companies thrive on keeping secrets. For good reason. It can mean success or failure of a product, or new technology that goes one-up on a competitor. Apple is one company that takes keeping things under wraps, very seriously. The tech giant has reportedly fired an iPhone engineer after his daughter posted a hands-on video showing off his iPhone X, before the device was available in retail channels.
If we can time travel back several years, to 2010 to be exact, an Apple engineer lost an iPhone 4 prototype while having a beer at the local beer garden. The prototype later ended up in the hands of renowned tech site Gizmodo, after the person who found it sold it to the news site.
The point is: leaks, secrets and rumours, while exciting to news channels and consumers, can make or break a product, or a brand.
This is why Apple is known for running an air-tight operation.
So, back to the story.
The daughter of the iPhone team member, Brooke, recently posted a hands-on video showing off her father’s iPhone X before the device was available for general sale. She took down the video right after Apple requested it. However, it is after all the internet, and it was too late to prevent the clip from going viral. The video even trended on YouTube.
The original video re-uploaded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBeD8E2xxck
In a follow-up video, Brooke said, “My dad showed me his phone, and I was filming it in the Apple cafeteria. I made this video for fun, because I love to make YouTube videos… So, I made this little video, that’s supposed to be a fun memory of me and my family. That’s all that making videos is to me. That it suddenly went viral and I have no idea how my video got so much attention considering how many iPhone X videos are out there from other YouTubers.”
“Apple asked me to take it down, and I took it down because I respect Apple. I had no idea that this was a violation.”
“My dad takes absolute full responsibility for the one rule that he broke” (for letting her film his iPhone X).
“They did what they had to do. I’m not mad at Apple. I’m not going to stop buying Apple products,” Brooke said.
Brooke continued and said that, “We’re not angry, we’re not bitter. My dad had a really great run at Apple and he appreciates everything the company did for his career.”
“He’s an incredible human being. I don’t think he deserves this but we’re OK. We’re good.”
It is important to know that being an employee device, it may have sensitive information like codenames for unreleased products and more.
Clearly, images and what more video footage of a yet-to-be-released product are prohibited. This ensures there are surprises and excitement when the device is launched.
Weirdly though, Brooke’s video came out after the iPhone keynote, and also after a slew of iPhone X videos were already released in the wild by media outlets.
Was Apple heavy-handed in this? Comment below.
Brooke’s follow up video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=XQzGKwjr_js
Source: Engadget, Brooke Amelia Peterson
