Apple’s next two iPhones were designed under the leadership of Steve Jobs, the company’s government liaison has said.
According to a report from the SF Examiner, District Attorney George Gascón has been in talks with mobile device manufacturers including Apple in the hopes that they might consider implementing kill-switch technology into phones and tablets to help fight against thefts.
During these talks, Gascón claims to have spoken with Apple’s government liaison Michael Foulkes, who said that the next two generations of iPhone have already been developed, and were designed when Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs was head of the company, before Tim Cook took over as CEO in 2011.
Jobs died on the day before Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S in 2011, so Foulkes’ comments suggest that Jobs oversaw the development of the iPhone 5, as well as other products that have launched since his death such as the iPad mini, MacBook Pro with Retina display and new iMacs. Jobs may also have been involved in designing other upcoming products, in addition to Apple’s next two iPhones, which could include an iWatch and a new Mac Pro.
Gascón’s discussion with Apple was “very underwhelming,” he told SF Examiner, noting that Foulkes “did most of the talking” like “someone who’s been trained in the art of doing a lot of talking and saying nothing.”
Gascón was told that, as the next two generations of iPhone have already been developed, and because the process of researching and producing kill-switch functionality is long and laborious, such technology isn’t going to make its way into iPhones any time soon.
However, Gascón says that he wants to see a plan put in place to ensure that the technology does get implemented into iPhones eventually. He believes that mobile device makers’ lack of interest in kill-switch technology could be due to profits. “I think there’s just too much [money] being made on stolen phones,” he said.
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