iOS bug warning: Setting this date on your iPhone or iPad will kill your device permanently by Justin Ferris.
From the post:
No one is quite sure yet why this happens, and Apple is still looking into it. However, the best guess is that iOS sees the date January 1, 1970, as either zero or a negative number, and that causes some or all of the iOS functions that require a date to crash.
Now, you might be thinking this isn’t a big deal, because you’d never set your gadget to this date. And it actually is a long process to do it. However, maybe you have a friend who’s a prankster or an ex-friend with a grudge that has access to your gadget. Or it could be done remotely, in the right circumstances.
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Not all iOS devices, see: http://www.komando.com/happening-now/347426/ios-date-bug-kills-iphone-and-ipad for the models affected.
Imagine that, bricking an iOS device with a date setting.
What will Apple think of next?
It may be the case that no one could have guessed this would be an issue.
However, entry of January 1, 1970 that bricks any device sold after 12 February 2016, should be treated as a case of strict liability against the manufacturer. At a minimum.