After so many pages, I am not sure how much attention this post will get, but this is a blog post which I feel helps shed some much-needed light on the matter.
https://theoverspill.wordpress.com/...le-between-conspiracy-and-rock-hard-security/
This blog post explains in great detail the (likely) logic behind the recent error53 issue bugging some of the iPhones which have had their home buttons replaced.
TL;DR - I am not making excuses for Apple, but I do feel that too many people seem all too eager to bring out the torches and pitchforks when it comes to Apple.
Ah, proof. It’s so hard to prove the imaginary, or to refute it. However the scenario where some Apple executives gather round a table and say “You know what? We’re losing valuable revenues and profits from people using third-party repairs! We need to brick those phones!” fails both Occam’s Razor and Hanlon’s Razor, the two logical tests that help you filter through a lot of modern crap.
I think it makes a great deal of sense, and helps shed some light on populist claims that Apple is deliberately screwing its users over just to earn a few dollars. I strongly urge each and every one of the readers here to at least visit the website and familiarise yourself with how Touch-ID works with the rest of the system, and better understand the context of the matter.
In no order of merit, here is a summary of the points in the article.
1. Touch-ID likely already stopped working after the home button was replaced. It was only with the latest software update that the users’ phones got bricked. I don’t see this point being emphasises much, if at all.
2. Apple has a lot of things on its plate, arguably even moreso than Google and Microsoft, since they are involved in hardware, software and services. It is inevitable that as you try to do more things, you will make more mistakes, and there will be more frequent lapses in communication.
3. The problem, assuming we can even call it one, is more likely due to poor communication between the touch-ID team and the rest of the organisation. What one side felt made for great security in its devices inadvertently turned into a PR fiasco for the rest.
4. Apple could have been more forthcoming with details, or even taken the initiative to inform consumers upfront, but I don't believe they intentionally set out to screw their customers over by bricking their devices.
5. iPhones are very complex pieces of hardware, and I can see why Apple would rather you bring your Apple products to their official retail stores for servicing (because they would presumably know better than a 3rd party retailer). The problem is that not everyone lives near an Apple Store, but that’s beyond the scope of this discussion, which is to determine whether there has been any malice on Apple’s part.
6. People who claim that they should be allowed to do whatever they want with their iPhones since they have already paid for it are missing the point. You buy the iPhone, but you still don’t have unlimited rights to it. For example, you aren’t legally allowed to try and pry into the secure element component of the processor, or decompile the software. Likewise, Apple tolerates users trying to jailbreak their devices, but this doesn’t mean Apple won’t go out of their way to make life difficult for you (because jailbreaking ultimately involves exploiting a security flaw in the software).
7. It's easier to sell news using the tried-and-tested conspiracy angle, all the more when it's Apple, a company which practically invites controversy with every single step it takes. The irony here is that these news outlets have likely encountered enough scenarios to know a conspiracy from a simple oversight, but still chose the former anyways, because it brings in the views.
8. Interestingly enough, the article goes on to note that Android Pay also sports the same requirements, which suggests that if Android phone users who have changed their fingerprint sensors might run into similar problems, though these issues will likely get buried because they aren’t considered newsworthy enough.
It will still be interesting nevertheless to see how Apple deals with the fallout, but like I said again, any claims that Apple is deliberately screwing their users over are premature.
