Overview
- Fresh reporting from London Centric compiles cases where muggers handed back Samsung and other Android phones after realizing they were not iPhones.
- One victim said an attacker returned his handset with the remark, “Don’t want no Samsung,” while another saw an e‑bike thief inspect a Galaxy device and throw it to the ground.
- A third account describes a would‑be mugger losing interest the moment a Samsung phone was produced, with an accomplice heard saying the “phone’s dead, innit.”
- Cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore of ESET links the pattern to economics, noting iPhones fetch higher prices on secondary and black markets rather than being easier to compromise.
- Police forces do not track thefts by device brand, but official figures show over 117,000 mobile phones were reported stolen in London in 2024.