Apple Stores have begun using Apple Presto, a tool that examines an iPhone inside its sealed box and runs diagnostics without opening the packaging, according to journalist Mark Gurman in Bloomberg's Power On newsletter, as reported on October 25, 2026. Apple has not publicly announced the tool, so the information should be treated as a report, not as official confirmation from the company.
The problem the tool targets is fraudulent returns: according to the report, buyers remove accessories, strip components from the device or keep the phone itself and return a resealed box. In some cases the returns happen in bulk, with the removed parts resold on secondary markets. To catch these cases, staff began opening even boxes that looked sealed.
That manual check has a cost for legitimate returns: once opened, a box cannot go straight back to the shelf as a new product and needs warehouse processing. With the new device, an iPhone that passes diagnostics can stay sealed and return to store stock, while a suspicious return can be flagged before it is accepted.
The technology builds on Presto, the system Apple Stores have used since 2024 to power on a boxed iPhone, install a software update wirelessly and switch it off again, without opening the box. The report also mentions a Presto version adapted for the iPhone Duo, which personalises the first-boot screen with the buyer's name.
There is no confirmed information on which countries have received the equipment, whether it covers products other than the iPhone, or what happens at the counter when a device fails diagnostics. Until Apple comments, the scope of the change remains limited to what Gurman reported.
Fontes: iClarified, Digital Trends e MacObserver, a partir de relato de Mark Gurman na newsletter Power On, da Bloomberg.
Image credit: earlier Presto system, image: iGen.fr, via iClarified. The image does not show the new verification device, which Apple has not publicly presented.
Transparency: this article was produced with the help of artificial intelligence, cross-checked against public posts on X and internet sources. Check the original sources to confirm the details.
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