I think another part of that (in the US at least) is the dominant framework of carrier contracts and subsidies. This is starting to change in theory but up unt

I think another part of that (in the US at least) is the dominant framework of carrier contracts and subsidies. This is starting to change in theory but up until now, the norm has been for a person to finish a 2-year contract, walk into a carrier storefront, and choose from several phones with ~$200-250 price tags. When you see an iPhone next to a Galaxy or an HTC variant with carrier logos plastered all over it, the iPhone seems like the most "premium" option and the price difference is either minor or nonexistent. Besides, the iPhone, through a combination of legitimately good track record and expert marketing has an excellent reputation. But if you're buying your handset outright, those other devices with less (or essentially no) marketing like the Moto X or the Nexus 5 start to stand out a little more if you're not married to one platform or the other. The difference between $200 and $250 isn't much to the person buying subsidized but the difference between a $350-400 handset and a $650-800 one is obvious. You can almost buy two Nexus 5's for the cost of an iPhone so the glass and metal "industrial design" may start to matter less. At least that's what happened for me. When I stopped doing the contract-and-subsidy thing to switch over to a $30/mo prepaid plan, I considered an iPhone 5S (the current iPhone) and the Nexus 5. The iPhone was maybe a little bit more capable and had nicer construction but if I got the Nexus, I'd save enough to pay for 11 months of service. Maybe I'm just a compulsive bargain shopper and spend a lot of time looking for the best bang to buck ratio. Maybe I'm just a cheapskate. Either way, my concern wasn't about targeted ads based on my search and navigation history. It was about not necessarily getting the absolute "nicest" thing out there, but rather something that did everything I needed it to do without spending a premium for that last 10% of quality/reputation/etc.