Skip to main content

Apple fires an engineer over daughter’s iPhone X video

Apple has fired an engineer after his daughter’s hands-on video went viral on YouTube, according to a report on The Verge. Earlier this week, Brooke Amelia Peterson posted a video showcasing her trip to Apple’s campus to visit her father and see the new iPhone X he had been working on. The video was posted to tech sites such as 9To5Mac and then quickly spread across the internet.

Peterson says that her father was fired due to the video. And in a second video, she explained that her father had broken Apple’s rules by allowing her to film the iPhone X during her visit to the Apple campus. Apple asked her to take the video down — but by the time she did, it had already spread far and wide.

Recommended Videos

The video doesn’t contain anything we haven’t seen before in regards to the iPhone X, but it did include footage of an iPhone X with employee-only QR codes. It also showed the Notes app and a list of codenames of unreleased Apple products, which might have been a motivating factor in Apple’s decision to fire Peterson’s father.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“At the end of the day, when you work for Apple it doesn’t matter how good of a person you are,” Peterson said in the video. “If you break a rule, they just have no tolerance. They had to do what they had to do.”

Peterson’s father had apparently worked for Apple for about four years and helped design the iPhone RF and wireless circuit.

Peterson said her father had apologized for the video and took responsibility for breaking Apple’s rules regarding filming on the Apple campus. She went on to explain that she made the video for fun because she liked making YouTube videos. She also said that she didn’t realize she was breaking any rules.

Interestingly, she also said that she wasn’t going to stop buying Apple products — even though they fired her dad.

This is hardly the first time someone has lost a job due to social media. Microsoft fired an employee whose son posted pictures of the Xbox 360 prior to its release date, for example. Apple is known for being extremely strict in regards to upcoming products, however, often giving codenames to unannounced products and tracking down leakers.

MY IPHONE X VIDEO WENT VIRAL
Eric Brackett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Apple is about to stop selling multiple iPhones in Europe. Here’s why
The iPhone 14 Plus held in a man's hand.

The iPhone SE and iPhone 14 series will no longer be available for purchase in Europe at the end of the year. In an effort to make technology more consumer-friendly, the European Union ruled that any mobile device sold must be able to charge through USB-C, according to iGeneration. While more modern entries in Apple's lineup already meet those guidelines, the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 do not.

These aren't the newest additions to Apple's lineup, but the iPhone SE and the iPhone 14 series are still sold in Europe. These will be pulled from shelves as the deadline approaches. Customers have plenty of options, but this decision will leave the European market without an iPhone SE option until the next model releases in 2025.

Read more
Apple’s mysterious iPhone 17 Air is one step closer to becoming a reality
A render of the iPhone Air.

For months, rumors have indicated that Apple plans to remove the iPhone Plus from the 2025 iPhone 17 lineup, and replace it with an entirely new model that might be called the “iPhone 17 Air.” A new report suggests that this phone is now closer to becoming a reality.

According to Digitimes, the new phone has entered the initial stage of manufacturing, known as the new product introduction (NPI) phase. At this stage, Apple and its manufacturing partners finalize a blueprint for creating the phone. It's a significant step in the process.

Read more
Can this Android phone camera beat the iPhone 16 Pro? I flew to Bali to find out
iPhone 16 Pro next to the OPPO Find X8 Pro on a bed of pebbles

The iPhone 16 Pro has one of the best smartphone cameras you can buy, and it sets a standard for everyone to beat, especially regarding video. We've already seen Samsung and OnePlus try and fail to beat Apple, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro has proven that even it will fall somewhat short.

However, what happens when you look outside the U.S.? Smartphones from Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo have set camera standards that put even the best in the U.S. to shame. I was in Bali last month testing the iPhone 16 Pro camera against a new smartphone from Oppo.

Read more