And in 5 years that's what this is about..

See above. What will today's new system be in 5 years?

On point 1: They're gonna be running the same firmware with a different system identifier.

On point 2: High Sierra or Mojave would be on the SSD, not in the firmware. The firmware is what decides whether the SSD is even visible; what's on ther SSD is irrelevant.

Additional point (3): Maybe you should buy it. Literally. Go buy one of the systems in question and try it. Report back.

Ketchup contains a lot of sugar; bacon contains a lot of fat. That's why people like ketchup and bacon.

You mean you forget what having memory is like?

You seem to be confusing sadism and masochism.

And I'm honored to have my 3rd "0, Troll" in over a decade and a half on this site. It tells me I'm probably right.

You missed a few words there... The people who've gone against their government weren't being fed (kept, actually) by that government; those words you dropped actually were important.

You're missing the big picture: Nobody will go against the will of the government that feeds them.

Everything you say is true, except for the bit about common sense. More of us on welfare than ever is exactly what they want.

So then the parts should be free, as well?

Have you seen me praising Tesla? If not, why are you asking me?

It wouldn't apply; Apple didn't make it break due to the use of an incompatible part any more than Ford made your brakes stop working because you used Mopar parts instead of Motorcraft. Agreed, however, that it's all kinds of shitty for the system to refuse to even attempt to use a part it doesn't recognize; if a bad part is used, it would benefit them to try and use it, then sell a new laptop when it fries (thereby voiding the warranty).

And Apple can't afford to do that?

Except that it's more of a "you broke it when you installed an incompatible part" situation, which MMWA explicitly allows to invalidate a warranty.

So, then, how is Jon Deere getting away with it?

Why, yes, they can't invalidate the warranty due to unauthorized repairs or modifications that didn't cause the problem. However, what has been reported is that they've designed a system such that any (or at least most) unauthorized repairs will cause a problem... which, then, will invalidate the warranty, at least as far as that problem is concerned. If the battery puffs up after your SSD replacement causes the system to refuse to boot, they'll still be on the hook for the battery, but they'll have no obligation to make the system bootable again.

We'll have to wait and see if they've actually implemented what was reported, but it's not a violation of MMWA if they did... even if it's shitty and underhanded.