Smartphones have long been attractive target for London street thieves, but it appears that many of the thieves are rather picky as to which brand of smartphone they prefer to steal. You see device snatching has a nickname on the streets of London, it’s called “Apple picking,” and for a very good reason. It’s due to thieves preferences for the iPhone, over literally any Android phone brand.
As reported by London Centric (via AppleInsider), London street thieves are definitely showing a preference for iPhones, leaving “rejected” Android owners in their wake.
A victim who wanted to be called only “Mark” reports he was sitting outside of his Hackney workplace, when a thief on an e-bike grabbed his Android phone from his hand. It was then that he experienced unexpected rejection.
“I saw him stop, look at my phone, then throw it on the floor. He cycled off and I retrieved my phone,” said Mark.
While there was no damage done to Mark’s phone, his ego was a bit bruised.
“If anything, I feel a bit rejected. My poor phone.”
Meanwhile, another smartphone theft started out to be a bit rough, but ended with a situation comedy-style punchline.
The theft victim, Sam, says a gang of eight ruffians blocked his path outside of a Royal Mail depot in south London back in January.
“I tried to move to let them pass, but the last guy blocked the path,” said Sam. “They started pushing me and hitting me, telling me to give them everything.”
The group then proceeded to steal anything they could from Sam, including the beanie hat he had on his head.
After relieving Sam of anything of value, they turned to make their escape, only to see the thive holding Sam’s Android phone back to him.
“Don’t want no Samsung,” the thief said.
Unfortunately, the City of London police and Metropolitan police don’t keep any figures on the smartphone brand preferences of thieves, security experts and Android owners alike have noticed a definite preference for the iPhone.
Why do thieves prefer the iPhone? Well, the iPhone traditionally holds its value better than most Android devices. That makes it worth more on the black market, both as a complete device or when it is parted out.
