That whole thing was farce; the FBI got the unencrypted backup data from Apple. iCloud Backup is on by default for every iPhone, and is effectively unencrypted, and sends pretty much the entirety of the device's data to Apple every night when plugged in (using Apple keys).
Apple can decrypt the whole thing without any input from the user: they don't need their phone, they don't need their password, they don't need their keys.
The whole thing was a carefully orchestrated media dance designed to make it seem like the feds can't get the data off of iPhones. Not only do they have access to almost all of the data on almost every iPhone, they have access to it without a warrant or probable cause thanks to the FISA Amendments Act. Apple compromised over 30,000 accounts for the US government without a warrant in 2019, per Apple's own transparency report.
Apple can decrypt the whole thing without any input from the user: they don't need their phone, they don't need their password, they don't need their keys.
The whole thing was a carefully orchestrated media dance designed to make it seem like the feds can't get the data off of iPhones. Not only do they have access to almost all of the data on almost every iPhone, they have access to it without a warrant or probable cause thanks to the FISA Amendments Act. Apple compromised over 30,000 accounts for the US government without a warrant in 2019, per Apple's own transparency report.