If you look at the components that Apple has additional restrictions on e.g. Screen, TouchID they are the ones that if were comprised would enable actors to record you, capture keystrokes etc.
There have been recorded incidents of state actors taking people's laptops, replacing components and then giving them back to them. Apple's position at least to my knowledge prevents this.
State actors who have someone really interesting to focus on can likely defeat anything Apple does anyway.
I'm glad Apple maintains trust between the fingerprint sensor and the secure enclave. That's a feature, not a bug.
Unless we're willing to compromise our lives to RMS proportions, we are forced to trust third parties. The value proposition for me with the iPhone is that I'm trusting the fewest third parties possible, and Apple has shown themselves to be sufficiently deserving of my trust.
Is there something similar for electronics repair?
I think the point is that they can't.
Just like state actors do struggle against the secure communication apps like Telegram.
In term of telegram, I'm not positive but I always thought that the encryption was in transit and if you could infect the phone you could see the messages as the intended user looks at them. An "analog problem" attack if you will.
I don't know if you can see telegram messages simply by having access to the phone.
Sadly that phone vendor doesn't allow unlocks anymore, so the upcoming replacement will be a hassle and I'll probably have to settle on a somewhat inferior device (also hoping for a headphone jack and replaceable battery).
Thank god I can choose from a big and free-ish market of android phones and don't have a huge sunk cost locking me into a specific vendor.