Apple is rolling out a new tool to help retail stores tackle iPhone return fraud and reduce wasted inventory. Some buyers reportedly remove accessories, strip components from devices, or take the phones themselves before returning the packaging, sometimes reselling the parts through aftermarket channels.

To prevent this, store employees have been opening even sealed boxes to verify their contents, but doing so can make otherwise sellable products require additional processing. Apple’s new device can scan an iPhone inside its sealed box and run diagnostics to check whether it is intact. Built on its Presto technology, the tool is now reaching retail stores.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman , the new inspection devices began arriving at Apple retail stores earlier in October 2026 and are now becoming operational.…