Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris admitted to the Associated Press that the new measures aim to force “unauthorised resellers” take a step back. She also added that previous rules allowed a person to buy as much as five iPhones and cash was allowed.
Apple must be now the first company to try and prevent customers from buying its products.
Last week Apple announced that an estimated 20 percent of all sold iPhones were bought with the express intention of having them unlocked.
The company’s previous anti-unlocker solution was the issue of a firmware update which turned modded iPhones into useless devices. Unfortunately for the company, an anti-firmware solution came up soon after.
All in all, Apple’s obsession of keeping the iPhone tied down to an AT&T contract has proved to be a PR disaster.
It would be interesting to see what measures will Apple put in place in France, where the iPhone is to be sold legally unlocked.