The Activation Lock's addition to the iOS 7 last September 2014 had a beneficial effect on the number of iPhone related robberies as it significantly dropped by 19% in New York, 39% in San Francisco, and 24% in London. With these records, law enforcement officials have concluded that the kill switch is really working.

A Kill Switch is designed to make it harder, even impossible, for anyone to use a smartphone in case it's lost or stolen.

With Apple's Activation Lock, the user's Apple ID and password are required before anyone can turn off Find My iPhone feature, Sign out of iCloud, or even erase and reactivate the device.

To take advantage of this feature, it is essential to enable Find my iPhone first by going to Settings - iCloud - Sign in - Turn on Find My iPhone. After this, Activation Lock will be enabled automatically.

On the other hand, reports also show that thieves are now targeting smartphone users which leads to a soaring 40% increase in Samsung related robberies, despite the mobile company's release of a similar feature called Reactivation Lock to some of its Galaxy models.

Such statistics presented by the Secure Our Smartphones Initiative, an organization of mayors, attorneys general, district attorneys, and high-ranking police officers, made Google and Microsoft consider adding the same security feature.

According to a recent statement by Google, the company would soon put into service a "factory reset protection solution". Meanwhile, Vice President of the U.S. Government Affairs from Microsoft Fred Humphries affirmed their participation on the CTIA'S Smartphone Anti-Thefft Voluntary Commitment last April, and they are aiming to meet these commitments before July 2015. In line with this, Windows Phone users should expect a better version of "Find My Phone" feature soon.

Do you think Google and Microsoft can live up to the standards set by Apple? How can they compete with the iPhone Kill Switch?