The fact that the other major mobile OSs gets 98% of the mobile malware (according to studies), makes this point about the "nonchalant attitude" rather week...
> The fact that the other major mobile OSs gets 98% of the mobile malware (according to studies), makes this point about the "nonchalant attitude" rather week...
No it does not.
It's not acceptable when any company is nonchalant about any security problem on their device, product or service.
And, taking Android as an example, Google is very open about the malware and malicious app problem[1] -- and takes steps to help mitigate said problem.
Apple is just straight-up telling users it's not a problem. There is a key difference here.
> I thought this required me to unlock my phone and say 'I trust this computer'
It does, but only once, and then it's almost impossible to "un-trust" the computer without wiping your phone. Besides, you probably have already "trusted" your home computer -- which could be exploited between then and now and then used as a vehicle for attack.
And, as some commenters have mentioned, when you plug into a new device, use an airplane USB charging port for example, the phone may repeatedly ask you to accept a pairing with the other side (the USB charger/device), and an accidental tap on the wrong button can leave the door open.
That 98% figure is caused primarily by users disabling the default-enabled restrictions on third-party non-Play-Store apps, and particularly in the pirated app space.
The attitude you exhibit towards iOS doesn't fly when Linux advocates mention that Windows is the target of 98% of PC malware.
And maybe it's true: 98% of the PC malware is targeted at Windows and 98% of the mobile malware is targeted at Android. I certainly take advantage of the Windows malware situation by running Linux, and not running any malware checkers.
Apple is a respectable company who cares about their brand image, so they're obviously allowing only high-profile adversaries' malware on your device! </s>
