The Australian phone-repair vlogger Hugh Jeffreys' latest video features an iPhone 12 in need of a new display and rear panel. The YouTuber demonstrated that fixing these issues entailed quite a bit of effort, resorting to the use of fancy laser equipment at one point. Furthermore, this US variant has extra parts that makes its dissembly even trickier (and potentially more dangerous) than the average iPhone.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/A-device-repair-YouTuber-condemns-the-US-market-version-of-the-iPhone-12-as-almost-impossible-to-restore-independently.540673.0.html
Ah ha, so there's still sabotage from Apple, not "nagware", outright sabotage, despite previous report suggesting removal of sabotage features in new firmware. People should be reminded about this every few months as the unmatched effort from Apple to obstruct repair is a significant factor to consider, especially when buying second-handed.
In fact why aren't they sued for lying to consumers(aside from already being sued for infringing right to repair)? The "non-authentic" message twists the very definition of "authentic".