For the open device, (with one glaring hole: they don't support full device encryption i.e. the bootloader etc... yet) you can encrypt your data such that if you lose the key, it is effectively unrecoverable. There is no communication with any 3rd parties that you don't specifically allow/enable. That is a killer security feature of the device: there's no 3rd party between you and your data.
On the Apple side, you're crediting them with 'secretive and innovative' when the reality is they only provide users as much security as their business model requires. All Apple really offers is security from casual hackers and when it suits their purposes, from the user/purchaser of the device. The fact that Apple is in a position to respond to a government demand with anything other than a blob of encrypted data tells you all you need to know about how secure your data really is with them. (I'd love to be corrected if it's realistic these days to use an i-device without their cloud services enabled... I left their ecosystem years ago so I am speculating that it's not)
There's no magic when it comes to security: either you provide the foundation to allow for a secure environment (which Pine appears to be working toward) or you don't (Apple likely never will as they appear to not want to piss off various governments).