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> To restore, affected users must then plug their devices into iTunes on Mac or PC to restore the device.

Bricking ain't what it used to be. Am I wrong in thinking that "bricking" means to render a piece of hardware permanently unusable for purposes other than paperweight?

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No, you're right. But writing an article saying "iOS 10 update bricking iPhones" gets a lot more clicks than "iOS 10 update fails for some people", so pretty much all of the news sites have started calling it "bricking" if it requires restoring with iTunes.

Language changes and is fluid. You are witnessing a change from one common vernacular to another. Bricked = made useless, some people could probably figure out how to fix it.

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