Just because a tech company has announced a product doesn't mean employees are free to share or talk about it before release --
just ask Microsoft. And unfortunately, one Apple engineered has learned that the hard way. Apple has reportedly
fired a iPhone team member after his daughter Brooke posted a hands-on video showing off his
iPhone Xbefore launch. Brooke took down the video as soon as Apple requested it, but the takedown came too late to prevent the clip from going viral, leading to seemingly endless reposts and commentary. We've asked Apple for comment on the firing.
In a follow-up video (below), Brooke said she and her father understood the decision and weren't angry at Apple. And it's important to stress that this wasn't a garden variety iPhone X. As an employee device, it had sensitive information like codenames for unreleased products and staff-specific QR codes. Combine that with Apple's general prohibition of recording video on campus (even at relatively open spaces like Caffè Macs) and this wasn't so much about maintaining the surprise as making sure that corporate secrets didn't get out. Apple certainly didn't want to send the message that recording pre-release devices was acceptable
