At the moment when we think of smartphone kill switches, we think of software features like Find My iPhone and Activation Lock that prevents the thief from unlocking or accessing the information on your phone. So far it seems that such software has proven to be pretty beneficial.
However what if kill switches were hardware instead of software? Would that be better? Well apparently Qualcomm seems to think so. The company has recently suggested that they believe using a hardware component as a kill switch could have an advantage over the use of software.
In fact the company believes that by using its Snapdragon series of SoCs could aid in the effort of rendering a phone useless in the event of a theft. Speaking to Re/code, Qualcomm’s Senior VP Raj Talluri was quoted as saying that a hardware component would be a lot more secure.
It would also prevent the thief from factory resetting the phone or flashing new software which would ultimately override the kill switch if it were software. This will of course require Qualcomm to work together with OEMs and carriers, but according to Talluri, talks are already underway, but what do you guys think? Is this a better and more secure idea than what is available at the moment?
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