Re: Why is it not a good outcome for Apple?
There's also no evidence what they did would have been possible on a newer iPhone with the secure enclave - and as of last week Apple no longer sells any iPhones that lack it.
Given that the FBI started with a statement that "this would only be a one-off" which got disproved before the filing had cooled down from the laser printer I don't actually put much stock with the "we cracked it without Apple" statement either, to be honest. It seems more a deal with an obscure outfit to get lots of dev money for declaring they can break the iPhone so that the department saves face.
The problem I have with these cases is that it pits more and more people AGAINST law enforcement. There used to be a time where you'd be glad to help them to indeed catch bad guys, but they seem to be hell bent on being the bad guys themselves now which isn't right.
Restoring transparency and accountability appears to be a priority, now more than ever.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
