Brett Molina, USA TODAY 1:32 p.m. EDT March 17, 2016

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company's fight with the Federal Bureau of Investigation over an encrypted iPhone is about more than one device.

During a lengthy interview with Time magazine published Thursday, Cook echoes the company's stance on the case, where a judge ordered Apple to break into an iPhone used by one of the assailants in the San Bernardino, Calif., shootings.

As he has said in previous statements, Cook notes the government wants to set a legal precedent by forcing Apple to create software to circumvent a feature that disables an iPhone after multiple failed login attempts.

"It’s not about one phone. It’s very much about the future," said Cook in the Time piece. "You have a guy in Manhattan saying I’ve got a hundred and seventy-five phones that I want to take through this process. You’ve got other cases springing up all over the place where they want phones taken through the process. So it’s not about one phone, and they know it’s not about one phone."

Apple returns to court on March 22 to present its arguments in the case. One day before, the company hosts an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., where it's expected to reveal a smaller iPhone.

Cook also says he feels "very uncomfortable in some ways" placed in this fight against the government over privacy and security. "Fighting the government is not a thing we choose to do. America is always stronger when we do things together."

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/03/17/tim-cook-iphone-fight-very-much-future/81906690/