Apple and other companies are constantly fighting against such practices.
New research from cybersecurity firm Kasada claims resellers are using bots to pre-order iPhone 15 smartphones, ordering millions of dollars worth of items from Apple’s website and carriers. This complicates the task for ordinary buyers, and because of this, delivery dates are delayed.
The whole situation allows resellers to profit from the initial rush of demand, reselling devices for hundreds of dollars more than the recommended retail price. Resellers have long been a problem during iPhone launch days, going back to the iPhone 4.
Robots are buying everything: that’s why living people don’t get iPhone 15
As noted by Kasada, trading bots, also known as All-In-One bots, or AIO, have repurposed from buying in-demand sneakers to placing orders for the iPhone 15. This is especially aggravating the situation with the most in-demand iPhone – 15 Pro Max. Kasada gives the example of one of the bots that made more than 3,000 checks and orders on the iPhone 15.
AIO bots are so-called because they control the entire purchasing process, from determining the availability of new products to placing them in the cart and completing the order. These “batch transactions” can take anywhere from 10 to 0.2 seconds.
As with sales in retail stores, Apple and other companies are constantly combating this practice with tools designed to detect the use of bots. Resellers respond by improving their tools.
