4 ms·

Back in the days Google notoriously launched turn-by-turn navigation on Android only. They bet on this being a big enough differentiator for people to use Andro

by dktp 2y ago

Back in the days Google notoriously launched turn-by-turn navigation on Android only. They bet on this being a big enough differentiator for people to use Android over iPhones. Apple then launched Apple maps - which at some point became quite good. Google quickly learned that they can't afford to make Android specific features in their apps or they risk losing large percentage of iOS users if Apple makes a competing product If Apple didn't respond with making their own maps, then maybe we would see more and more Android specific features, to the point where Android would become the dominating platform

gunapologist99 2y ago
Not to put too fine a point on it, but Android is the dominating platform, except in the U.S.: https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users But this is also exactly the same game Apple plays against Android users. It's the same reason why iMessage bubbles are green for Android. Google won the maps round, but such wins are vanishingly rare against Apple. https://support.apple.com/en-us/105087 https://support.apple.com/en-us/105087
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- runako 2y ago
  > iMessage bubbles are green for Android There are non-Android devices that can send texts as well; they also appear as green. It's probably more accurate to say that encrypted messages are blue and unencrypted are green. Look at the recent AT&T hack to see why the difference matters.
  - gunapologist99 2y ago
    Even if that was more accurate (I don't think it is), it's certainly not the way users see it. In fact that's NOT the way Apple describes it, either (see the Apple article cited above), because Apple doesn't actually want to enable E2EE -- it only wants to be able to say it offers it. In practice, ensuring that other users are pressured into choosing iMessage on iPhone is the only thing that matters to Apple. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241443505/green-bubble-shaming-android-apple-iphone https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241443505/green-bubble-shami... And, this very simple trick works extremely well: at least 87% of teenagers in the U.S. (https://mashable.com/article/apple-messages-green-doj https://mashable.com/article/apple-messages-green-doj) are pre-programmed to buy an iPhone, even though they have the lowest disposable income of all. Meanwhile, less than a third of the overall global population owns an iPhone. Is that because iPhones are better? As an owner of both a recent Pro Max and Pixel Pro, I can unequivocally answer, "no", but I do find all of the annoyances between cross-device communication accrue to the point of just wanting to switch to my iPhone full-time, even though it's arguably a worse experience in many ways.
    - runako 2y ago
      You're addressing a lot more than I even attempted to address. I was really just pointing out that devices like this: https://www.hmd.com/en_us/nokia-2780-flip?sku=16WNDL11A01 https://www.hmd.com/en_us/nokia-2780-flip?sku=16WNDL11A01 and services like e.g. SMS text reminders from Internet services do no run on Android. The green is not a signifier of Android, just of non-encrypted. Or non-Apple, if you want to be less precise. (Apple devices where encryption is disabled also appear as green.)
      - gunapologist99 2y ago
        That's fair, thanks for clarifying!
- robertoandred 2y ago
  iMessage doesn't support Android. SMS messages are green, no matter if it's sent from an Android phone or an iPhone or an authentication service or a marketing service, etc.
- throwaway2037 2y ago
  > Android is the dominating platform, except in the U.S. Certainly not in Japan.

by dktp 2y ago

gunapologist99 2y ago

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Android is the dominating platform, except in the U.S.: https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users But this is also exactly the same game Apple plays against Android users. It's the same reason why iMessage bubbles are green for Android. Google won the maps round, but such wins are vanishingly rare against Apple. https://support.apple.com/en-us/105087 https://support.apple.com/en-us/105087

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
runako 2y ago
> iMessage bubbles are green for Android There are non-Android devices that can send texts as well; they also appear as green. It's probably more accurate to say that encrypted messages are blue and unencrypted are green. Look at the recent AT&T hack to see why the difference matters.
- gunapologist99 2y ago
  Even if that was more accurate (I don't think it is), it's certainly not the way users see it. In fact that's NOT the way Apple describes it, either (see the Apple article cited above), because Apple doesn't actually want to enable E2EE -- it only wants to be able to say it offers it. In practice, ensuring that other users are pressured into choosing iMessage on iPhone is the only thing that matters to Apple. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241443505/green-bubble-shaming-android-apple-iphone https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1241443505/green-bubble-shami... And, this very simple trick works extremely well: at least 87% of teenagers in the U.S. (https://mashable.com/article/apple-messages-green-doj https://mashable.com/article/apple-messages-green-doj) are pre-programmed to buy an iPhone, even though they have the lowest disposable income of all. Meanwhile, less than a third of the overall global population owns an iPhone. Is that because iPhones are better? As an owner of both a recent Pro Max and Pixel Pro, I can unequivocally answer, "no", but I do find all of the annoyances between cross-device communication accrue to the point of just wanting to switch to my iPhone full-time, even though it's arguably a worse experience in many ways.
  - runako 2y ago
    You're addressing a lot more than I even attempted to address. I was really just pointing out that devices like this: https://www.hmd.com/en_us/nokia-2780-flip?sku=16WNDL11A01 https://www.hmd.com/en_us/nokia-2780-flip?sku=16WNDL11A01 and services like e.g. SMS text reminders from Internet services do no run on Android. The green is not a signifier of Android, just of non-encrypted. Or non-Apple, if you want to be less precise. (Apple devices where encryption is disabled also appear as green.)
    - gunapologist99 2y ago
      That's fair, thanks for clarifying!
robertoandred 2y ago
iMessage doesn't support Android. SMS messages are green, no matter if it's sent from an Android phone or an iPhone or an authentication service or a marketing service, etc.
throwaway2037 2y ago
> Android is the dominating platform, except in the U.S. Certainly not in Japan.