They care about privacy and still have a massive connection with China?

Idk but if you're willing to break your privacy for one state, what's stopping you from breaking it for another?

How is this different than every other company doing business in China, including Microsoft?

>Keep your data within datacenters located in China with an Azure China account and stay compliant with international and industry-specific compliance standards. Access to your customer data is controlled by an independent company in China, 21Vianet. Not even Microsoft can access your data without approval and oversight by 21Vianet.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/global-infrastructure/chin...

Did i say Microsoft is better?

I said that selling point for Apple is just invalid.

Actions that are legally required of every company doing business in a particular country do not invalidate their actions elsewhere.

Google, for instance, bragged on their blog to their real customers in advertising that they now buy a copy of everyone's credit card transaction history.

No nation forced them to do that.

Actually I think they do - if they're ever legally required to give up data here they seem to not really put up a fight, or have an incentive to make the data useless for the govt.

What I'm saying is expecting Apple to have your back sounds meh.