When Apple Transports iPhone Prototypes, They Use This Secret Stealth Case

In the Internet age, companies have to go a few extra miles to prevent leaks. Just look at some of the steps Hollywood studios have had to take to keep spoilers from dropping and ruining their box office results. It's the same with hot gadgets, and there are no gadgets hotter than iPhones. Apple has suffered some big leaks in the past – now we're getting a look at some of the things they'll do to keep leaks from happening again.

Before we ever get to spend money on an iPhone, or even get into line for the newest model, Apple has to send prototypes back and forth between the Apple Campus in Cupertino and their manufacturing facilities in China.

And when they do, this is the case they use to send their prototypes, a plain, matte black shell that hides most of the details and is bound with bright yellow tape to show if somebody tries tampering and peeking.

That stealth case travels with a "passport" that documents all the testing the prototype goes through.

As it makes its way from test to test, each technician initials the passport and notes how the prototype performed on their particular test.

Each prototype also has a QR code on the back, which allows Apple to track it.

Of course, these measures haven't completely stopped leaks in the past. Pictures of the iPhone 7 Plus leaked six months before it launched, and an Apple engineer left a disguised iPhone 4 prototype at a bar back in 2010.

Any of the leaks that have dropped in the past haven't exactly hurt Apple's bottom line. If anything, getting an early glimpse has just ramped up anticipation.

The difference, of course, is that Apple doesn't get to control the information when it gets leaked. And big changes can happen between the prototype stage and the actual product launch, so consumers can get the wrong idea and not know what to expect. 

h/t MacRumors

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