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Here's an open secret. Most people globally buy an iDevice because it has become a fashion symbol, a status symbol and the peer pressure is huge to sport one, o

Here's an open secret. Most people globally buy an iDevice because it has become a fashion symbol, a status symbol and the peer pressure is huge to sport one, once you reach the financial ability to buy them. It has little to do with otherwise non-technical people somehow appreciating the technical nuances of security, curation, walled gardens, sideloading and so on.

AnonHP 6y ago
Maybe some people buy it as a status symbol, but the user experience in general, for someone who doesn't want root and other customizability but likes a nice smooth easy-to-use interface (as much as smartphones of today can even be user friendly), is far better on the iOS side than on the Android side. And one doesn't have to carry a large and heavier device in order to get this experience (compare the battery capacities between iOS devices and Android devices). There are things that only those who use it can realize.
- guytv 6y ago
  > far better on the iOS side than on the Android side. From my experience - latest Android on a Pixel phone is as good as the latest iOS experience. Where do you see iOS's being a "far better" experience?
cblconfederate 6y ago
This needs to be brought up more often. Apple IS a lifestyle, fashion brand, and this is probably a sector that is heavily underappreciated by entrepreneurs. Fashion is a strong motivator, and phones are strong social signal indicators, - something that is not appreciated among developers/techies. I know some ppl who bought a mac (because their peers did) and yet run windows (because excel is all they do/know). Also, considering that iDevices are designed to appeal to "simple users", it's kind of an oxymoron to pretend that their average consumer appreciates them for Swift compilers or their processors.
scarface74 6y ago
People have been accusing Apple devices of being a fashion symbol since the first iPod came out. In the US, Apple has 45% market share. How is anything with that type of market share a status symbol.
- cblconfederate 6y ago
  Remember blackberry? (why is it an accusation btw? if anything it's a good thing)
  - scarface74 6y ago
    Remember the Apple //e released in the early 80s? Apple has been selling products more expensive than the competition for almost 40 years. People have been accusing Apple’s customers of being brainwashed for four decades.
    - cblconfederate 6y ago
      It's not brainwashing. Signaling is a big part of life. We like to pretend that humans are rational machines, but in reality people spend most of their time doing irrational things because they are rewardding, like, i don't know , arguing with strangers on the net for self-importance reasons. Apple's customers are easy to mock sometimes because they make their signaling slightly more visible by paying extra for it, but the vast majority of ppl would act the same under the same circumstances.
      - scarface74 6y ago
        You realize that almost 50% of users in the US are Apple users? I could say the same about open source advocates. So do you think there is no reason besides signaling that people may want a phone that integrates with everything else they have? Or they get a faster phone for $399 than any Android phone at any price? They get 5 years of OS updates directly from Apple instead of hoping you get an update for two years? You have a video chat/messaging platform that has been consistent since 2010-2011 instead of having five released by the vendor? Does Apple have some type of secret sauce that has allowed it to go its own way for four decades that no one else in the industry was able to successfully pull off? Or is it really just “better marketing”?

AnonHP 6y ago

Maybe some people buy it as a status symbol, but the user experience in general, for someone who doesn't want root and other customizability but likes a nice smooth easy-to-use interface (as much as smartphones of today can even be user friendly), is far better on the iOS side than on the Android side. And one doesn't have to carry a large and heavier device in order to get this experience (compare the battery capacities between iOS devices and Android devices). There are things that only those who use it can realize.

guytv 6y ago
> far better on the iOS side than on the Android side. From my experience - latest Android on a Pixel phone is as good as the latest iOS experience. Where do you see iOS's being a "far better" experience?

cblconfederate 6y ago

This needs to be brought up more often. Apple IS a lifestyle, fashion brand, and this is probably a sector that is heavily underappreciated by entrepreneurs. Fashion is a strong motivator, and phones are strong social signal indicators, - something that is not appreciated among developers/techies. I know some ppl who bought a mac (because their peers did) and yet run windows (because excel is all they do/know). Also, considering that iDevices are designed to appeal to "simple users", it's kind of an oxymoron to pretend that their average consumer appreciates them for Swift compilers or their processors.

scarface74 6y ago

People have been accusing Apple devices of being a fashion symbol since the first iPod came out. In the US, Apple has 45% market share. How is anything with that type of market share a status symbol.

cblconfederate 6y ago
Remember blackberry? (why is it an accusation btw? if anything it's a good thing)
- scarface74 6y ago
  Remember the Apple //e released in the early 80s? Apple has been selling products more expensive than the competition for almost 40 years. People have been accusing Apple’s customers of being brainwashed for four decades.
  - cblconfederate 6y ago
    It's not brainwashing. Signaling is a big part of life. We like to pretend that humans are rational machines, but in reality people spend most of their time doing irrational things because they are rewardding, like, i don't know , arguing with strangers on the net for self-importance reasons. Apple's customers are easy to mock sometimes because they make their signaling slightly more visible by paying extra for it, but the vast majority of ppl would act the same under the same circumstances.
    - scarface74 6y ago
      You realize that almost 50% of users in the US are Apple users? I could say the same about open source advocates. So do you think there is no reason besides signaling that people may want a phone that integrates with everything else they have? Or they get a faster phone for $399 than any Android phone at any price? They get 5 years of OS updates directly from Apple instead of hoping you get an update for two years? You have a video chat/messaging platform that has been consistent since 2010-2011 instead of having five released by the vendor? Does Apple have some type of secret sauce that has allowed it to go its own way for four decades that no one else in the industry was able to successfully pull off? Or is it really just “better marketing”?