[jlbbellefeuille]

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was by design…

imagine for a moment how valuable new cars would be if you could restrict the supply of the used car market by mandatory recycling when the first owner buys a new vehicle.

Apple benefits significantly at least two ways;

1. Increasing overall demand for both new and used (unlocked) Mac Books by restricting supply.

2. Used unlocked Mac books will have a better resale value on the aftermarket thus continuing the folklore that Apple products retain their value for longer.

This begs the question… how much would a used Mac book cost if Activation Lock didn’t exist?

What is the true market price of a used Mac book? Or Apple Stock?

[a4a4a4a4]

Not everything is a conspiracy. If you buy a used laptop and the previous owner didn't remove it from their icloud first, you can still try to get them to unlock it for you. As a buyer, make sure it was removed from their icloud before you buy it. It's a very useful anti-theft measure, and Apple warns you about this on their site to take those steps before selling it.

[yamtaddle]

Apple products' resale market has been remarkably better than similar consumer electronics since well before the lock.

You missed a way Apple benefits: buyers may find devices that are unattractive to thieves more valuable, so, be willing to spend more on them.

[Linosaurus]

Presumably a car is valuable enough that even a large company would be willing to spend several minutes unlocking each to get the full second hand value.

While computers have more confidential data. The article implies that the big company sold them to be destroyed.