Skip to main content

Suspects plead not guilty in lost iPhone 4 prototype case

Last year tech blog Gizmodo turned up with an iPhone 4 prototype in its possession. It was subsequently accused of receiving stolen goods. Last month, San Mateo County district attorney Steven Wagstaffe, having reviewed all the evidence, decided that no crime had been committed by Gizmodo.

Brian Hogan and Sage Wallower haven’t been quite so lucky. They’ve been accused of selling the iPhone 4 prototype to Gizmodo for $5,000. On Thursday the pair pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor theft charges.

Recommended Videos

A report by The Examiner says prosecutors allege that 22-year-old Hogan came across the phone in a bar in Redwood, near San Francisco, in March last year. It is believed to have been left by an Apple employee who’d been testing the device prior to its release.

Prosecutors are accusing Hogan and his friend, 28-year-old Wallower, of then selling it on to Gizmodo. Both guys face a misappropriation of lost property charge. Wallower is also charged with being in possession of stolen property.

According to district attorney Steven Wagstaffe, Hogan and Wallower should have tried to return the prototype to Apple instead of selling it.

The Examiner reports that Jeffrey Bornstein, acting as Hogan’s attorney, released a statement in August saying that Hogan was “extremely remorseful.”

“Although we do not believe that charges of any kind should have been filed, Brian fully accepts responsibility for his actions,” Bornstein said in the statement.

The judge set a pretrial conference date for October 11, with the trial date set for November 28.

The news comes just days after it emerged that another Apple employee left another prototype in another bar. Although the phone’s GPS signal led investigators to an address in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights district, they still couldn’t find the device. It’s thought that it could be the much-anticipated iPhone 5, likely to be launched in the coming weeks.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 16
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Apple iPhone 16.

There’s little doubt that Apple and Samsung are two of the biggest rivals in the world of flagship smartphones. Every February and September brings a new smartphone that tries to leapfrog ahead of its main competitor. This year, that’s Samsung’s Galaxy S25 coming on the heels of September’s iPhone 16.

With few design changes, the Galaxy S25 doesn’t look much different from last year’s Galaxy S24, but Samsung has packed a lot of new technology and software improvements under the hood to produce an AI-forward smartphone that’s ready for prime time. With Galaxy AI in its second generation and the Gemini now front and center, the Galaxy S25 promises to usher the company’s flagships into a new era of AI smartphones.

Read more
Google’s Gemini is getting a lot smarter for iPhone users
Using Gemini Deep Research on a smartphone.

Google's Gemini AI just got a major buff for iPhone users with the addition of its Deep Research feature. Google first added this feature to Android devices, but it's dropping in a phased rollout to the iPhone. If you don't yet see this function, give it some time; at the time of writing, it hasn't hit our phones here at Digital Trends yet.

The Deep Research feature "uses advanced reasoning and long context capabilities to act as a research assistant, exploring complex topics and compiling reports on your behalf." This enables Gemini to do comprehensive, in-depth research on nearly any topic, but be warned: the process is not fast.

Read more
Apple launches ambitious health study to advance wellness tech
Banner inviting users to join Apple Health Study.

Apple recently launched its first pair of wireless earbuds with an integrated heart rate sensor. Down the road, this convenience will reportedly arrive on the AirPods family, as well. The uber popular earbuds have already landed their hearing aid clearance, alongside a slew of new wellness-centric features.

The focus is clear. Health-tech is the next great avenue for innovation at Apple.

Read more