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Android beats iOS in smartphone loyalty, study finds
- askafriend 9y agoIf you have the money to buy a new iPhone and are considering a new smartphone, your range of options is effectively any smartphone device in the market. If you're buying an Android device, you're statistically likely trying to save money and therefore a new iPhone isn't a realistic option. Thus, the range of options you consider tends to be Android-only unless your smartphone budget has changed significantly since the previous time you bought a phone. These points are worth considering when looking at the chart presented in the link.
- ksk 9y ago>If you have the money to buy a new iPhone and are considering a new smartphone, your range of options is effectively any smartphone device in the market. Not necessarily. 'having money' isn't the same as willing to over-pay. In the same vein 'saving money' could mean willing to pay an amount apropos to value of the goods.
- lurker_primo 9y agoI think they meant they have money that they are willing to pay for a new iphone. What is over-pay to you might be just-the-right-price for somebody else with different values.
- wvenable 9y agoI have a few friends with low phone budgets and in the past they've purchased low-cost Androids and been very dissatisfied with them. Their last purchase, a few months ago, was for iPhone 6's. Apple may only have high priced phones in the latest generation but iPhone's that are 4 generations back are still being sold (new) as the budget option.
- guelo 9y agoNew iPhones start at $349. I think it's more about which ecosystem has the bigger lock in. I used to be locked into the Apple ecosystem and it was somewhat painful to extricate myself. What's interesting about Google's ecosystem is that I was locked into it even when I had an iPhone. And I can't imagine trying to extricate myself from Google, it would be even more painful. Now that I'm on Android the Google locked-in ecosystem is a bit smoother with things like Google Photos.
- tobinfricke 9y agoYes, and new Android phones start as low as $30-$50. Example: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EYT1URO/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EYT1URO/
- lucianmarin 9y ago$350 gets you a 6 years old phone design, an iPhone 5 with better internals. $700 gets you a 4 years old phone design, an iPhone 6 with better internals. $1000 gets you a brand new iPhone. I got a Sony XZ1 Compact for €500 and it works the same or better than an iPhone.
- millstone 9y agoOut of curiosity what year design is the Sony XZ1 Compact?
- endemic 9y agoIt was released in 2017, although perhaps your comment is alluding to the (small) iterative design updates that Sony gives its phones. I wanted an XZ1 Compact due to USB Type-C and the plastic back, but settled for a Z5 Compact due to LineageOS support. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Xperia_XZ1_Compact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Xperia_XZ1_Compact
- sekou 9y agoI've used mostly Android phones in the past I was trying to decide whether to get the Z5 Compact or finally try Apple with the iPhone SE. After nearly a year with my first iPhone I'm ready to switch back. How has your experience been with that phone?
- markcerqueira 9y ago> If you're buying an Android device, you're statistically likely trying to save money and therefore a new iPhone isn't a realistic option. Disagree strongly. Yes, plenty of Android phones come in at lower price-points so they will be more appealing to people looking to save money when purchasing a smartphone. But calling this is "statistically likely" is a gross exaggeration of the situation.
- scarface74 9y agoHow is it a gross exaggeration? The average selling price of an Android phone is $227. The ASP of an iPhone is $692. https://www.androidauthority.com/price-gap-samsung-apple-smartphones-769772/ https://www.androidauthority.com/price-gap-samsung-apple-sma... The fact is if your budget for a phone is $300. You're going to buy an Android. EDIT: The link above compares Apple and Samsung. The gap is even wider when you take all manufacturers into account. $691 - $215. http://fortune.com/2016/02/15/apple-android-asps/ http://fortune.com/2016/02/15/apple-android-asps/
- apendleton 9y agoI think by "statistically likely" they just mean "more than 50%," or, in other words, that lower-price-point Android phones outsell top-shelf ones. Given that upmarket they compete with the iPhone but downmarket they pretty much own the entire product space, this doesn't seem particularly unrealistic to me.
- askafriend 9y agoLike someone pointed out, there is significant data around this. I am not exaggerating in the slightest.
- criley2 9y agoYou're hiding behind bad statistics to basically ignore all high end android phones, Galaxy devices etc. You're pretending the entire high end android market is "negligible" by using such shoddy statistics to essentially claim "Android = Budget". We all know what you're doing when you make cheap, short comments which obscure context to push narrative. This is a very similar situation to people who use averages because medians don't tell the narrative they want. You have a narrative, and you have damned statistics, so reality doesn't really get in your way.
- jonjojr 9y agoother things to consider is the fact that for a run of the mill Android the insurance cost is significantly less and the deductible in some cases $100 compared to the $250 for an iPhone. Those who realized that the first time around would reconsider buying an Android as their next phone. Apple is not innovating as they used to in their phone and so Android is quickly closing the gap, which makes them financially speaking more viable option.
- scarface74 9y agoFor the run of the mill Android phone, why buy insurance at all? My teenage son is always breaking phones. We haven't allowed him to get a phone (with his allowance) that costs more than $100. I'm very impressed with the $100 Moto G.
- DannyB2 9y agoFlagship Android phones are at about $1,000. Android users might just like the ecosystem better. There are rational reasons for that. Just like some people prefer Apple's ecosystem.
- mcphage 9y ago> Flagship Android phones are at about $1,000. I wonder how the loyalty levels vary by phone price?
- anbende 9y agoWe likely have a baserate problem here. Most phones are android, so if someone just picked at random, they’d usually pick android. This doesn’t always mean ‘android loyalty’. It could as easily mean ‘price loyalty’ or ‘carrier promotion loyalty’. If someone picks iOS, with its smaller market share and number of phones, it is more likely brand loyalty to Apple/iOS. So the two loyalty numbers are not exactly comparable
- ksk 9y agoOkay, but you're essentially telling someone whose job it is to produce this data that they're doing it wrong. Maybe they have already thought about this. Its far more likely that techcrunch is misrepresenting the data with their headline. :)
- anbende 9y agoI’m a scientist. I do that all the time. :) And no, I did not check the underlying article. I think my point stands regardless though. iOS/iPhone and Android/a bunch of different phones are not interpretable in the same way. There’s no real way to “account” for this
- Guereric 9y agoPrice loyalty for Android is not as true today as it was 3 years ago. Apple now sells a variety of phones ranging from $350 to $1000+ USD. In developed countries, this certainly allows consumers to cross shop between Android and iOS.
- scarface74 9y agoThey sell one phone for $350 - the iPhone SE. While I'm thinking about "upgrading" to the SE - I'm really starting to like the idea of a real small phone and my iPad - most people don't want a phone that size. But $350 is still higher than the average price of an Android phone - $227 https://www.androidauthority.com/price-gap-samsung-apple-smartphones-769772/ https://www.androidauthority.com/price-gap-samsung-apple-sma...
- 9y ago
- Multicomp 9y agoBetween the ecosystems and physical handset variety (Freetel Mushashi vs. Galaxy Note 8), I'm not surprised that the data would show that Android now has higher loyalty than iOS. Why? I would hazard that it would be the Google ecosystem; Gmail, Google Maps, Google Drive, YouTube, etc are just about irreplaceable without compromises that most non-HN users are not generally willing to make. Edit: Well, guess who forgot something as elementary as Google ecosystem being on Apple devices too? Me. It's a strange feeling being embarrassed based on some text on the internet.
- hprotagonist 9y agoI can and do use all of those services on my iOS devices.
- crazygringo 9y agoBut the entire Google ecosystem is on iOS too. One reason I keep everything on Google is because it lets me effortlessly switch between Android and iOS. (And it used to be that iOS apps were way behind/inferior to Android ones, but that isn't usually the case anymore.)
- zeveb 9y agoAnd one reason why I use Android phones is I know that the platform owner will let me use whatever apps I wish, unlike iOS.
- ebbv 9y agoDoes anybody other than people who actually work in the marketing department of a phone manufacturer care? Is anybody still basing their identity around the brand of smartphone they use in 2018? If so, that's sad. The iPhone vs. Android battles were stupid in 2010 they're beyond pathetic in 2018. Pick the phone you like and move on with your life.
- matthewmacleod 9y agoCan’t be said enough. There are good reasons to choose either platform - Apple devices tend to be a little slicker and have better software, but there is a much wider variety of Android devices and the experience is more customisable. It’s still useful to know what way the market is moving and customers’ perception of devices to help us make informed choices about things like device support. But it’s not a competition for anybody except Apple and Android phone manufacturers; pick the platform that suits your needs and ecosystem best, and it’ll be fine.
- adamlett 9y agoPeople will exhibit tribal behavior over anything. Of course they base their identity around the brand of smartphone they use. It would be surprising if they didn’t. It’s not sad. It’s just human nature.
- scarface74 9y agoBrand loyalty to Android doesn't even help the "marketing department of the phone company". Even people who are loyal to Android are seldomly loyal to a manufacturer.
- jstarfish 9y agoTeens do. They tend to gravitate towards platform-specific apps, and when all the cool kids have iPhones, guess what they're going to insist on?
- askafriend 9y agoIn the US, iMessage is a cultural sticking point. That's one thing that contributes to an "us" vs "them" mentality.
- oflannabhra 9y agoThe headline makes this seem like a recent development, but according to the CIRP data, this has been the case since 2013. The article even makes note of this, further down. For Apple, iOS is a differentiator. For everyone else making handsets, the software is not a differentiator.
- matt_wulfeck 9y agoThe numbers that don’t lie are in smart phone profits. If you have a reasonable amount of loyalty, you will also be able to charge a premium. Yet only Apple and maybe Google’s pixel are in that arena. Money talks!
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 9y agoI would like to see the data for the top end phones. Comparing the iPhone to the Galaxy, Note, and Pixel, who has the brand loyalty? Many people pick Android because that is what their cell phone provider has for cheap.
- pepe56 9y agoAndroid tends to be more flexible with a few things. At least I see a lot of users using custom fonts and crazy widgets, that would never work out with the iOS sandbox concept. iOS users that i know often have an iPhone because it just works pretty well. They would use iMessage and iCloud and everything is fully integrated. I am currently on iOS, but I have deep concerns how Apple is controlling the Apps on the App Store and in general is pushing its agenda to everyone’s phone just like that. When my 6s breaks I will very likely switch back to Android just for the reason of being able to root my device, sideload applications and control traffic via hosts file. Also, Wireshark and other fun stuff.