The UK's police force is partnering with the tech giant as part of an effort to encourage companies to make stolen phones harder to reset and reuse.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told the BBC: "If stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their value collapses, and so does the incentive to steal them."

Smartphones have been a major target for thieves, with value increasing once they're exporting to countries like China, where they wouldn't include the usual local government restrictions.

However, it's said Apple have "cracked" an engineering issue allowing thieves to use illicit software to factory reset stolen devices.

Although the exact measures are unclear, iOS 26.4 enabled Stolen Device Protection by default.

This means there is a delay on when passwords and other security features can be changed when the phone is in an unfamiliar location.

Rowley has claimed "the fast majority of phones" which have been stolen in London over the past few weeks haven't been factory reset.

According to the Met police, 14,000 fewer phones were stolen in London between June 2025 and May 2026, which marks a drop of 18 percent compared to the previous year.

There are other factors at play there, including the use of e-bikes, drones and facial recognition in the battle against phone theft.

The Met Police explained that Google and Samsung are also doing their bit to combat theft.

Despite acknowledging that we'll never reach "zero crime", Rowley added: "This is going to make a massive difference.”