Apple’s new iPhones were unveiled last week and while they brought new designs those who had been following up on news and rumors about the new smartphones were hardly surprised when they saw the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus being officially unveiled. That’s because shells of both 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models had leaked online multiple times over the past few months. The leaks often originated in China and some of them might have been the work of a Foxconn employee who has been detained for allegedly stealing iPhone 6 shells and selling them in the market.
Foxconn is one of the biggest contract manufacturers for Apple and there’s no doubt that it is involved in the production of new iPhones as well. Almost every year we see leaks from the factory prior to the new devices being unveiled and this year it was no different.
A state-controlled newspaper reported today that on September 4th a man named Qiao was taken in custody by Chinese police on September 4th after it was allegedly found that he had stolen six iPhone 6 shells off of the assembly line and sold them in a market in Shenzhen for 6,000 yuan or approximately $950.
The Wall Street Journal reached out to Foxconn and was able to obtain a confirmation that a factory worker really has been detained and that the investigation is currently ongoing. It is reported that Qiao stole the first iPhone 6 shell back in July after claiming to have seen an ad from some company that wanted to purchase parts made for Apple’s devices at high prices.
So far Apple has not commented on this report or its take on the investigation, but its safe to assume that it wasn’t thrilled about any of the leaks that showed off the iPhone 6 models ahead of their time.
