No more murder mysteries: Apple's new 'no iPhones for baddies' policy could ruin suspense thrillers

Everyone will know whodunit by the cellphone that the culprit does not have.

By ET Bureau | Mar 04, 2020, 08.19 AM IST

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Apple devices will be particularly detrimental to the whodunit genre as people will henceforth not only look for clues in the screenplay but also focus on the brand of mobile phones being used by protagonists in order to identify culprits and co-conspirators.

It is intriguing to conjecture that an Apple a day keeps bad guys at bay, but the recent resurfacing of an urban legend asserting that villains are known by the technology they keep once again points to this truism. The revelation last month by a filmmaker that bad apples are allegedly not allowed to sport Apple devices will be particularly detrimental to the whodunit genre as people will henceforth not only look for clues in the screenplay but also focus on the brand of mobile phones being used by protagonists in order to identify culprits and co-conspirators.

Then, by extension, every aspect of the screen villains’ persona — from their choice of clothes to cologne — can be listed as hallmarks of their character, at least theoretically. That potentially leaves baddies with very few sartorial and other options in future and filmmakers with practically no product placement opportunities — as brands would not want to be seen as the preference of scoundrels.

Of course, by seeking to proscribe the use of their products on-screen by negative characters, companies reinforce the notion that popular perceptions are indeed coloured by such ephemeral associations. Some flashy celebrities’ preferences for particular brands have not affected other well-heeled consumers’ appeal for these products; do the rest of us think different when it comes to cellphones?

A Sigh Of Relief: Apple iOS 13.3 Released, Reportedly Fixes The Most ‘Annoying’ Bugs

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Back when Apple announced iOS 13 at the last WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference), probably no Apple user had expected so many bugs and issues to creep into their phones. Apple delivered most of the features it had promised with iOS 13.2 which was rolled out on October 30.

However, to fix the problems that users are facing, Apple has released iOS 13.3 to those who had signed up for beta testing. Reportedly, iOS 13.3 has fixed quite a few bugs, including the one which is being dubbed as the most ‘annoying’ problem till date.