In the beginning of April, Samsung decided to allow users to access anti-theft apps, including a so-called "kill switch" for its Samsung Galaxy S5 on select carriers. Where Samsung goes (and where Apple pretty much already is with "Activation Lock"), so goes the rest of the smartphone industry.

On Wednesday, wireless industry trade group CTIA announced that nearly all smartphones in 2015 will have "kill switch" options, in one form or another.

Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, HTC, and other manufacturers, along with Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, AT&T, and Verizon, have all announced their "voluntary commitment" to anti-theft tools for the next crop of smartphones for sale in the U.S. It will cost nothing extra for consumers.

There are a couple catches to this announcement, though. First, the CTIA commitment will only apply to smartphones manufactured after July 2015. Second, the voluntary commitment applies to "a baseline anti-theft tool that is preloaded or downloadable on wireless smartphones." That means it may not come automatically on your phone, depending on what carrier and model you get, and most will probably be a consumer opt-in option, rather than automatically set up.

Putting kill switches on smartphones has been a contentious issue between smartphone manufacturers, wireless carriers, and the law enforcement community, the latter of which has been pushing for legislation both nationally and in state legislatures to require such software on any handset sold in America.

Most smartphone manufacturers are fine with kill switches, which generally allow users to deactivate the phone remotely, locking thieves out from personal data and rendering the device useless for reactivation and illicit resale. And law enforcement officials, including two government prosecutors from California and New York who have led the push for legislation, want ubiquitous kill switches in smartphones as a disincentive for smartphone theft and robbery. That's because between 30 and 40 percent of all robberies in major U.S. cities involve mobile phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission, costing about $30 billion in 2012. In some cities, like San Francisco, that percentage is closer to half.

But wireless companies have been more reticent to incorporate kill switches, because part of the money the industry makes comes from selling phone insurance and replacement phones to people who worry about or have lost their phones or had them stolen. Likely because of the legislative push, the CTIA has decided it's better to voluntarily commit to kill switches rather than be forced to include them in every phone sold, under penalty of stiff fines.

The two prosecutors pushing to "Secure Our Smartphones," New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, responded to the CTIA's kill switch initiative with both praise and skepticism, partly due to the "opt-in" aspect, which most wireless carriers will probably default to.

"While CTIA's decision to respond to our call for action by announcing a new voluntary commitment to make theft-deterrent features available on smartphones is a welcome step forward," said Schneiderman and Gascón's joint statement, before levying their criticism. "It falls short of what is needed to effectively end the epidemic of smartphone theft. We strongly urge CTIA and its members to make their anti-theft features enabled by default on all devices, rather than relying on consumers to opt-in."

The prosecutors also expressed criticism on the CTIA's timeline, saying, "The industry also has a responsibility to protect its consumers now and not wait until next year. Every week that passes means more people are victimized in street crimes that often turn violent, and more families will have to endure the needless loss of a loved one." Schneiderman and Gascón, likely much to the chagrin of the wireless association, also promised to continue their push for built-in kill switches on every smartphone: "Today's announcement is an important acknowledgment by the smartphone industry that technology to deter theft is not only feasible, but also practical. Accordingly, our work must continue until the standard is that these solutions are enabled by default."

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