Special prototype iPhones called dev-fused iPhones help security researchers examine Apple’s code (via Motherboard).
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Dev-Fused iPhones
Dev-fused iPhones are basically iPhones that haven’t finished the production process, or they have been reverted to a development state. They have security features disabled, and this lets researchers look through the code more easily.
![image of dev-fused iphones](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/dev-fused-iphones.jpg)
These are rare iPhones and weren’t meant to leave the production process. Smugglers and other middlemen sell them for thousands of dollars. Dev-fused iPhones make it possible to discover vulnerabilities in iOS, for good or ill.
They are very popular among security researchers,” said a person who’s familiar with the supply chain of smuggled iPhones in China, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid putting his associates in China at risk. “I’ve had a number ask me and say they were willing to pay a significant amount of money to get dev phones. They are stolen from the factory and development campus.
For example, according to five sources that Motherboard spoke to, Cellebrite, a company that sells iPhone-hacking tools to law enforcement, uses dev-fused iPhones to create its products.
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Photo by CoinView App on Unsplash