[fiat_fandango]

I actually support this - the amount of material involved isn't trivial but is largely aluminum. I think the positives of deterring thieves / illegal resellers far exceeds the environmental impact. A better approach in my opinion is Apple licensing certain resellers to allow a reset with some kind of proof of purchase. This kind of provenance is already coming to eBay and tbh this is another key area of right to repair in which I disagree with Louis Rossman.

[cma]

I wonder what percentage of the bricked devices are actually stolen.

[fiat_fandango]

I'd say over 60% at least - a friend of mine bought a second-hand M1 macbook without any issues. Key here is that the previous user has to initiate a full-wipe on the device, if that happens anyone can continue to use the device. This is similar to SIM locks on iPhones, completely intended to reduce theft.