Apple has full control of every component and piece of software that goes into the iPhone and they are checked at every step. It is highly unlikely that anything malicious or un-authorized could be hidden into an iPhone.
Unlike Android phones that are essentially slapped together from parts bought on the open Chinese market that have already been found to contain spyware for the Chinese, iPhones are locked down and checked with Apple controlled monitors in the assembly areas. Every piece of software is check-summed and also curated by Apple employees. The devices are also encrypted by 256 bit AES encryption. Q has actually put [Samsung] in a kill box, but not Apple, using Samsung as a stand-in, I think, for all Google Android products. The US military is now going to use Apple iPhones for secure communications as does the UK military.
> “Apple has full control of every component and piece of software that goes into the iPhone”
No doubt.
The chatter centers around Cook cutting a deal with PRC to provide spy capability, hence the President’s statements on no further iPhones for government-related persons.
There is also chatter that Cook reneged on the commitment to make iPhones in the USA. I think it could be more than just background chatter. Perhaps you know more detail.