The company shift to privacy was more about getting pulled in front of Congress over the location data being accessible via USB as part of iTunes backup:
Source: people who were at Apple during that time period.
I think people underestimate how traumatic it was culturally to Apple and how Apple generally experiences comparatively little turnover vs their other major tech peers, so the responses to those traumas linger. Same with the brouhaha over the CSAM tech that they attempted to bundle into the iPhone that ostensibly was trying to preserve your privacy and they instantly got smacked down over it.
Source: people who were at Apple during that time period.
Example: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/government-officials-want...
I think people underestimate how traumatic it was culturally to Apple and how Apple generally experiences comparatively little turnover vs their other major tech peers, so the responses to those traumas linger. Same with the brouhaha over the CSAM tech that they attempted to bundle into the iPhone that ostensibly was trying to preserve your privacy and they instantly got smacked down over it.