I’ve no idea if activation lockout can be circumvented. What I care for the most is the ability of thieves to access my information.
The recently introduced Stolen Device Protection helps a little, but the reality is that if my phone is unlocked, the thief has already access to a lot of my information, and the potential to unlock more, until I erase the phone (which ideally should be done within the hour, as this is the delay imposed by Stolen Device Protection).
As for why phones are being stolen, parts alone make it worthy, so I don’t think any measure will stop the crime, unless the phone self destructs 🤣 or unless the parts are coded so that they cannot be used on other devices (but this would have ripercussions on the right of self repair).
I just would like to be sure that if the phone is taken off my hands, access is immediately stopped.