They will be bricks before the day is out................
Yep. Stupid thieves.
I’d think so. I’m sure Apple knows what devices were swiped. They can be bricked like you say and still tracked in a heartbeat.
Not the brightest bunch of sons.
Not necessarily. Apple will allow them to stay active while authorities track them to where they are used. That's how Apple has recovered products from other store thefts. Thieves are too stupid to realize the products are on and traceable to locate their whereabouts. All it takes is for one of the devices to remain powered on. Even if they managed to power them all down before arriving at their destination, all it takes is for a stupid thief to play with one and get busted. The demo models are all linked back to Apple.
https://9to5mac.com/2016/10/17/apple-store-security-tethers-demo-devices/
“The iPhone will reset when the device is powered off and then plugged in. When removed from the Apple Store, the stolen iPhone can’t do anything but ring for Find My iPhone until the battery dies. The iPhones are also Activation Locked using iCloud as a deterrent just like customer iPhones.”
So yes, they do become bricks...