Robbers Are Grabbing Fewer Smartphones

Apple's so-called "kill switch" seems to be having its intended effect - discouraging would-be thieves from snatching people's iPhones.

Apple added an activation lock that enables people to wipe and disable their stolen phones in September 2013. Since then, the New York Police Department has seen a 16 percent drop in cell phone robberies, and a 25 percent drop in people grabbing iPhones specifically.

Following Apple's lead, Samsung and Google have also embraced anti-theft software.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman pushed cell phone makers to add kill switches, together with law enforcement officials in San Francisco and London. Those cities have clocked even steeper declines in smartphone theft.