Apple doesn’t own the device.
The device is the personal property of the person who paid for it and owns it.
They have zero right or obligation to break into anyone’s private property.
Here is Apple's current statement: Apple - Privacy - Government Information Requests
On devices running iOS 8, your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders is placed under the protection of your passcode. Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8.Reading the statement (not just the paragraph above) in its entirety, my impression is that Apple would, if it could, and if the warrant called for it.
On further searching .. Apple slaps a passcode lock on iOS 8 devices, but cops can still inhale your iCloud - UK Register: 23 Sep 2014
This article purports to quote from Apple's previous privacy remarks:
Apple can perform this data extraction process on iOS devices running iOS 4 or more recent versions of iOS. Please note the only categories of user generated active files that can be provided to law enforcement, pursuant to a valid search warrant, are: SMS, photos, videos, contacts, audio recording, and call history. Apple cannot provide: email, calendar entries, or any third-party App data.FWIW, that article is pretty informative.