Apple Patents New Anti-Theft Product Display Tables To Be Used In Stores

Some people would apparently give up a kidney for an iPhone, while others head straight to the source and grab one without paying. To the latter group, Apple says better luck next time; the Cupertino tech giant has been awarded a patent for extra-secure product display tables that prevent grab-and-run incidents while allowing customers ample freedom to try products out.

Granted by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the patent for a “Product-Display System” describes a table with display stems attached to the demo products and retainers that wrap around the devices, according to Patently Apple.

The display stems would be integrated with a cabling system that not only anchors products to the table but also allows users to hold them at a comfortable level, instead of limiting them to just inches away. The retainers would sport a sleek, minimal design so as not to obstruct the browsing experience.

An illustration in Apple’s filing imagines iPhones, an Apple Watch, and an iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard being tethered by this system.

In addition, the table would be equipped with a security system that sounds an alarm when it senses that a display product has been tampered with or unplugged.

Apple already has restrictive controls installed in demo products that are activated in the event of them being taken by unauthorized parties, since—as you can imagine—its retail stores are prone to thefts.

In 2019, for instance, robbers armed with sledgehammers took to a location in Australia and made off with A$300,000 (US$203,000) worth of iPhones.

Unbeknownst to them, the company bricks devices that have been stolen from their display areas, so all that effort was for nothing.

In a similar vein, as looters swarmed stores during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Apple disabled iPhones grabbed from retail outlets and interjected them with a popup message stating that the devices had been “tracked” and that they were to be returned to their original locations.

The patented table would better prevent such incidents while giving shoppers the freedom to carry them with ease, using and rotating them fluidly.

[via iPhone in Canada and Patently Apple, images via various sources]