It's not only the recent fight, but the way they implemented it in iPhone 6, with the Secure Enclave. The fact that they created something that is so secure that they cannot hack it themselves blew my mind.
The FBI is taking this public at a politically opportune time to try to make it so they can order this type of thing for any digital device they physically possess.
There's also a bit of me that thinks the timing is also a convenient way to influence the presidential election. Law enforcement groups are heavily Republican. Encryption has been a topic brought up in the debates. Dems usually say things like "We just need to ask nicely and they'll help us out, I know it"; to your average voter, this is proof-positive that that's not true, and it gives the law-and-order candidates remaining in the GOP field (which, I guess remaining are Cruz and Bush? This would've helped Christie and hurt Fiorina) a very powerful amplifier for their anti-crypto positions.