They’re taking a byte out of crime … some of it, anyway.

To combat a surge in smartphone theft, the NYPD has launched a campaign to advise consumers about the security benefits of updating to Apple's latest -- but neglected to promote a similar feature Google launched on Android one month earlier.

“Attention Apple Users!!!!” reads a flyer cops began handing out Friday, the same day Apple started selling the new iPhone 5S and 5C. “The new iOS7 software update avaialble [sic] for your Apple product brings added security to your devices.”

“For additional information on iOS7 features visit www.apple.com,” the flyer helpfully suggests.

Apple’s smartphone competitors including Microsoft, Google and Motorola declined FoxNews.com requests to comment on the program. But a Google source did note Android's similar feature, which is available for all users running version 2.2 and above -- that’s 100 percent of Android-based devices now on sale.

“If your phone can’t be recovered, or has been stolen, you can quickly and securely erase all of the data on your device to keep your data from ending up in the wrong hands,” wrote Adrian Ludwig, an Android security engineer with Google, when he announced the feature in early August.

The Activation Lock feature in Apple’s iOS7 makes it impossible for a thief to deactivate the "Find My iPhone" or "Find my iPad" feature without the owner's Apple ID and password. Similarly, Google’s Android Device Manager can remotely locate a lost device and can lock and erase it.

The feature is easily set up from android.com/devicemanager. The police did not advertise its launch, however.

NYPD officials said that the Apple feature may help prevent theft.

“Members of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau set up information tables at Apple and Best Buy stores in all five boroughs,” sergeant Brendan Ryan told FoxNews.com. “Police suggested iPhone owners download iOS7, which has an upgraded ‘Find My iPhone’ program that makes it more difficult for thieves to turn off the security settings.”

Between May and Sept. 15, there have been at least 114 incidents in which patrol officers either using their own iPhones or iPhones allocated by the NYPD recovered stolen property using the Find My iPhone feature. This led to 159 arrests and 109 recovered iPhones, iPads, Macbooks and iPod, Ryan said.

 Apple has not launched the iPhone 5S or 5C in India. But you can still buy one. The catch: You have to shell out big bucks for these devices. To be precise, the asking rate for the basic model of the iPhone 5S is between Rs 65,000 and Rs 1,00,000, depending on who you ask, and in which city.

The iPhone 5C is difficult to find as dealers in these grey markets say that there is no demand for it, but it can be bought on websites like eBay for around Rs 55,000. The devices are factory-unlocked , which means you don't get official warranty. The unlocked version of the 16GB iPhone 5S costs $649 (around Rs 40,000) in the US, while the iPhone 5C costs $549 (around Rs 34,000).

New iPhones have always commanded premium prices in grey markets like Gaffar Market in Delhi, and Heera Panna and Alfa in Mumbai, largely because these devices are officially rolled out in the country several months after their international launch.

Apple is considered a premium brand and people who look at it as a status symbol are willing to pay exorbitant prices for bragging rights of being the first to own the new iPhone models before anyone else does. But this time the prices are touching a new high, particular for the goldcoloured iPhone 5S model.

"There is a huge demand for the champagne-coloured iPhone 5S. I just sold a piece with 16GB storage to a person in Patna for Rs 1,08,000 through eBay," said a Delhi-based dealer , on the condition of anonymity . He added that he had one more unit of the same colour, "but it is the 64GB model and is at an asking price of Rs 1,70,000". "iPhone 5S in white or space grey is cheaper. I can give you the 64GB model for Rs 1,30,000," he said.

The rates outside Delhi are less, but not by much. A Hyderabad-based phone dealer, who also maintains an e-commerce website called Lets-Go-Digital , said that he was selling 16GB iPhone 5S in the coveted gold colour at Rs 1,05,000. The iPhone 5S in grey was available at Rs 77,000.

In Mumbai, Manish Khatri, who has a phone store, but doesn't sell phones without an official warranty, said the price of iPhone 5S is between Rs 65,000 to Rs 75,000 for the 16GB model in the city's grey market. However, the gold-coloured device costs around Rs 85,000.

If you cannot spend this kind of money on a phone and yet want an iPhone, your only option is to wait.