Apple may turn off the iPhone for Russians if the degree of conflict between Russia and the West „moves to a completely different phase,“ said Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Technologies and Communications.

Google can do the same with devices running the Android operating system.

This was said by the MP in an interview with the YouTube channel „Telega Reality“.

— If the military conflict goes into a completely different phase and the stakes are raised to the limit — I’m talking about what some experts call World War III — then I recognize that Apple will turn off all iPhones in the Russian Federation and Google will turn off unflashed phones in Android,“ suggested Gorelkin.

In the same interview, the deputy said that he does not rule out the possibility of isolating the Russian Internet from the global network, although he expressed hope that this will not happen, since those members of the Russian leadership who are responsible for this are „very reasonable and highly intelligent people.”

Only highly intelligent people know what will happen to Runet.

But do Google and Apple really have the ability (and desire) to restrict Russian access to their products if the international conflict continues to escalate?

Journalists from MSK1.RU contacted the editor-in-chief of the TouchBar podcast about technology and gadgets Farhad Usmanov.

The specialist commented on Gorelkin’s reasoning about the possible shutdown of the devices.

„Apple and Google are unlikely to turn off smartphones or other gadgets in Russia, as these companies do not control or limit their use by customers,“ Usmanov said. — And now Apple does not sell iPhones in Russia and does not care what is sold in other countries, where it is taken and by whom it is used.

However, Usmanov believes that companies can deny Russians access to some of their services and applications.

„They may disable services, but no one will completely shut down the iPhone.“ Google is usually the operating system vendor; hardware is produced by third-party vendors – Xiaomi, Honor, Samsung, Realme and hundreds of other brands.

To be fair, Apple, unlike Google, continues to accept payments and allows the use of iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+ and other services.

Usmanov explains that iOS and Android devices are not used by military or government officials.

– Ordinary citizens use them. Of course, companies know this, so they have no particular reason to cut off ordinary citizens. The deputy may have wanted to call for a transition to „local Russian smartphones,“ Usmanov suggested.

— But do „native Russian smartphones“ exist?

— R-Fon , which is not for sale. And other devices assembled from Chinese components with a shell based on AOSP (this is an open source operating system project supported by Google. – Ed.).

In any case, Usmanov is of the opinion that in the event of a third world war, neither side will be interested in shutting down the iPhone.

Talks about replacing Western smartphones with local counterparts have been going on for quite some time, and they gained new momentum after the start of the World War II.

Thus, in March 2022, State Duma deputy Maria Butina presented a Russian smartphone from Rostec – AYYA T1.

Then MSK1.RU contacted Maria. She talked about the advantages of the Russian device: she boasted about the ability to physically turn off the smartphone’s cameras and microphone, as well as a beautiful pre-installed wallpaper. She also said that Russian technology has a good future, although not the easiest.

In the same year, it became clear that we still do not need to wait for a new smartphone from Rostec.

The developed device AYYA T2 never appeared on the shelves – Taiwan refused to work with the Russians, and there was no one to produce processors for the domestic smartphone.

A Rostec representative did not confirm the project’s technical difficulties. „Tests of the new trusted phone AYYA T2 on a home processor are proceeding as usual,“ the source told Vedomosti. This was the latest news about the device in development.

Earlier, the head of the Association of Professional Users of Social Networks and Messengers (APPSIM) Vladimir Zikov published the first photos of a Russian phone on the domestic operating system ROSA Mobile. The phone was called „R-FON“ and, judging by the promises, it will go on sale this year.

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