Overview
- Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman disclosed on Sunday that Apple considered a 'white-glove' option for its new Apple Upgrade leasing plan but ultimately did not include the feature.
- The concept would have had Apple restore a customer's iCloud backup onto a new iPhone before shipping so the device arrived ready to use.
- Apple's privacy concerns centered on the optics of moving personal data from iCloud into phones at Apple facilities and the risk that customers would perceive Apple as holding their information.
- A technical blocker was Advanced Data Protection, Apple’s end-to-end iCloud encryption, which prevents Apple from accessing some backups and would force different workflows for encrypted and unencrypted users.
- Operational limits also mattered because a restore done at shipment could be days out of date unless the customer picked the phone up in store; Apple launched Apple Upgrade in the U.S. last month and has not revived the preload idea.