Once you learn this one fact, you will never watch mystery dramas the same way again. Apple does not allow villains to use iPhones. This detail was revealed by Rian Johnson, director of the movie ‘Knives Out’, in a 2020 Vanity Fair video. He said, “Bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera in mystery movies,” and indeed, only the actual culprit in ‘Knives Out’ did not use an Apple product. This piece of trivia reveals something significant: IT devices on screen are never placed at random. Every device is a deliberate choice driven by intent. Let’s decode this intent through three lenses.
1. Devices Speak for the Characters
First, devices are tools that describe characters without a single line of dialogue. HBO’s ‘Succession’ is a textbook example. The Roy children generally use iPhones, but characters like the father Logan Roy, son-in-law Tom, and executive Gerri do not. Based on this pattern, fans have spun theories to guess “who the real villain is.” A single device brand subtly reveals a character’s standing.
‘Mr. Robot’ uses this technique even more sharply. Terry Colby, a tech-lagging corporate executive, is deliberately given a BlackBerry. With a single outdated handset, the show silently communicates that “this person has fallen behind the curve of technology.” Conversely, the protagonist Elliot does not use flashy, state-of-the-art gadgets, but rather a cheap, sturdy, older enterprise desktop. It is the choice of a pragmatic hacker—one that runs Linux effortlessly and has cheap, ubiquitous parts. The device is essentially the character’s report card.
2. Devices Are a Measure of Realism
Second, how devices are handled serves as a gauge of how much a work respects reality. Here, the Spanish series ‘Money Heist’ and the American series ‘Mr. Robot’ stand at opposite extremes.
‘Money Heist’ boldly uses technology as a mere plot device to build narrative tension. The Professor remotely directs the heist crew via communication from outside the Royal Mint, and hacking serves as the plot engine that drives the plan forward. However, the depiction is far from reality. For example, a scene where a smartphone is hacked the instant it is turned on is practically impossible unless a backdoor was planted in advance. Instantly exfiltrating massive video data during boot-up, or keeping exploit code persistent across reboots, are incredibly difficult tasks in the real world. It is a classic case of sacrificing realism for entertainment.
‘Mr. Robot’ is the exact opposite. Hacking in this show is not represented by flashy, animated viruses, but by actual command-line Linux. The most famous scene involves infiltrating the data storage facility ‘Steel Mountain’. The hacker group fsociety secretly attaches a Raspberry Pi (a credit-card-sized single-board computer) behind a thermostat to break into the building’s HVAC system and destroy backup tapes. This is exactly the ‘drop device’ technique used in real-world penetration testing. The production team’s obsession extended down to the props. According to technical consultants, a standard Raspberry Pi was too large to fit behind the thermostat, so they desoldered the bulky wireless port and soldered the network cable directly to the board to reduce its size. From ‘USB drop’ attacks—scattering malware-laden USB drives in a parking lot hoping someone plugs them in—to ProtonMail appearing as the secure email service, real-world tools are used in real-world ways.
Both shows deal with “hacking,” but one penetrates a system the moment it turns on, while the other solders cables. The way devices are handled speaks volumes about the show’s attitude.
3. Devices Sell Brands (and Become Spoilers)
Finally, behind the devices on screen lies a contract called marketing. This is where the iPhone rule mentioned at the beginning comes from. Unlike other brands, Apple is known not to pay for product placement; instead, they require their products to be shown “only in the best light and in a context that flatters Apple.” As an extension of this, villains are rarely seen holding iPhones. A classic example often discussed is the TV show ’24’, where terrorists used Windows PCs while the protagonist used a Mac. According to a brand tracking agency, Apple products were exposed for 13 minutes in Season 2 of ‘Big Little Lies’ alone.
The side effect of this rule is quite amusing: the device brand itself becomes a spoiler. If there is a character who is the only one using an Android phone, you might start suspecting them of being the mastermind before the story even wraps up. However, this is more of a trend than an absolute rule. In fact, there are exceptions where villains openly use iPhones, such as in ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ or the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise. There may be a rule, but it is not always set in stone.
Conclusion
In summary, IT devices in TV shows are not just simple props; they serve three main purposes. They convey a character’s status and personality without dialogue (the iPhones in Succession, the BlackBerry in Mr. Robot), reveal how much the show respects reality (the unrealistic portrayal in Money Heist vs. the extreme realism in Mr. Robot), and are the result of contracts that sell a brand’s image. Once you understand these three codes, you can start reading the story behind a phone that someone casually pulls out on screen. The next time you watch your favorite show, take a close look at what the characters are holding. The devices might already be telling half the story.
One-Paragraph Summary
IT devices in mega-hit TV shows are never placed by accident and serve three key roles. First, they speak for the characters—in Succession, iPhones convey the Roy family’s status, while in Mr. Robot, Terry Colby’s BlackBerry silently signals that he is “behind the times.” Second, they act as a measure of realism—Money Heist sacrifices reality for entertainment with “instant hacking upon turning on a phone,” whereas Mr. Robot insists on real command-line Linux and actual penetration techniques (drop devices) like attaching a Raspberry Pi behind a thermostat. Third, they sell brands—Apple does not pay for product placement but only allows its products to be shown in “the best light,” meaning villains rarely get iPhones, which occasionally turns device brands into plot spoilers (though exceptions exist, so it is not an absolute rule). Ultimately, if you can read the devices in the characters’ hands, you have already read half the show.
⚠️ The behind-the-scenes and product placement details in this article are based on public interviews and reports (such as Rian Johnson’s 2020 Vanity Fair video), and Apple’s policies are unofficially known and subject to change over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Apple’s ban on villains using iPhones real?
This became known when Rian Johnson, director of the movie ‘Knives Out’, mentioned in a 2020 Vanity Fair video that bad guys in mystery movies cannot hold iPhones on camera. Apple is known not to pay for product placement, instead requiring that its products only be exposed in favorable contexts.
How do devices describe characters?
In Succession, the Roy children generally use iPhones, but characters like the father Logan, son-in-law Tom, and executive Gerri do not. Based on this pattern, fans have created theories to guess who the real villain is.
Which shows have the most contrasting technical accuracy?
Money Heist and Mr. Robot. Money Heist boldly uses technology as a tool to build narrative tension, while Mr. Robot pursues extreme realism.
Leave a Reply