[agloe_dreams]

It's more than data. Apple's disk encryption already does that on iOS.

Activation lock isn't just data protection: It is Anti-theft. The concept was that bricking the hardware if it is stolen would reduce the, at the time, massive rise of theft. Activation lock on iOS (and all kinds of keying hardware to that board) basically shut down cell phone theft as they become worthless. They added the same to MacOS.

[jrockway]

Yeah, I haven't heard of someone having their iPhone stolen since about 2015. Killing the illegal resale market with "if you don't know the password, the phone is a brick" is probably the biggest reduction in crime that society has ever experienced.

[MagnumOpus]

> Yeah, I haven't heard of someone having their iPhone stolen since about 2015

You haven't been paying attention then. In London, phone snatching (iPhones preferred) has been and remains an epidemic to the tune of tens of thousands a year - in a single city.

They might not be resold at full price, but even selling to a fence for parts is profitable if your acquisition cost is zero.

[JCharante]

My family has still gotten their phone stolen (albeit when abroad). Anti-theft is the reason I'm happy to support Apple's practices that make it harder to swap generic components between phones. I'd rather no components be swappable without Apple intervention.