> Stick to a strong alphanumeric passcode that you won’t be compelled to disclose.
I can imagine this having value against criminals as well. The number of people willing to beat a password out of a victim is smaller than the number of people willing to hold a victim up against the wall for a second to press their finger to a reader.
Except criminals that could beat you up on a street are not interested in your data, they just want to sell the hardware and have money for drugs. It's easier for them to just type wrong passcode 10 times and have the phone wipe its whole content.
Does the wipe put it back into factory default mode? It was my understanding that it would put it into a "locked to X user" mode, requiring an iCloud password to reactivate.
I can imagine this having value against criminals as well. The number of people willing to beat a password out of a victim is smaller than the number of people willing to hold a victim up against the wall for a second to press their finger to a reader.