I don't know about iPads, but can't iPhones be restored from the backup on your Mac?
And I suspect that those Mac users who are aware of clones are the ones who are the most at risk if they go by the boards.
Neither macOS or the hardware that runs it is infallible, and I think Apple needs to consider that.
In order:
No, because I never backup either my iPhone or iPad to my Mac, I back up to iCloud. In any case iPhone and iPad backups are not bootable and like Time Machine in Big Sur do not back up the OS, That has to be restored from the App Store and will be the latest OS compatible with the device, not the version that was on the device. The Apps are not backed up either, they come from the App Store as well. Backups consist primarily of settings and data.
Likely true
Unlikely to happen. Apple has been on this track for years and shows no signs of being diverted (especially if diversion would reduce security one iota).
If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?
