With iOS 18, Apple is bringing a huge change to Activation Lock and bringing it to iPhone parts so that they can’t be used anywhere else.
Apple is Bringing Activation Lock to iPhone Parts with iOS 18 to Discourage Theft and Parts Salvaging
When Activation Lock kicks into action, the iPhone becomes useless unless the owner unlocks the device or removes it from their Apple Account. However, the iPhone could still be salvaged for parts, such as battery, camera, etc.
With iOS 18, Apple is bringing the Activation Lock feature to said parts. When someone tries to remove the battery or camera module for use in another device, the iPhone will simply throw a message saying it can’t be done since the parts are locked to the previous owner.
Once you enter the username and password of the original owner’s Apple Account, only then you will be able to use the part in the new iPhone, as discovered by BetaProfiles.
This is a very important change and one which everyone should welcome. It is a great way to discourage theft. Once iOS 18 is rolled out to everyone next week in its full and final form, this feature will be turned on for millions of users across the world.
Apple is working round the clock to improve iPhone repairs. It was only recently the company revealed that it is enhancing support for third-party displays and batteries on the iPhone. This means non-genuine parts such as batteries will show battery health metrics and more. Other than that, True Tone support is also being added to third-party displays but performance like a genuine part is not guaranteed, but it’s still better than nothing at all.
It was recently revealed that Apple has made some changes to the iPhone 16 lineup as well, ensuring easier battery replacements whenever needed. I’m sure someone will do a teardown in a few days time to prove this right or wrong.
