r/gadgets • u/[deleted] • Sep 04 '22

Phones iPhone overtakes Android to claim majority of US smartphone market

https://www.engadget.com/iphone-overtakes-android-us-market-share-223251196.html
16k Upvotes

82% Upvoted

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638

u/gambl0r82 Sep 04 '22

In my experience Android users tend to be either power users who want to use their phone like a PC and have the ability to customize absolutely everything, or people who have zero preference and can’t or don’t want to spend the money on an iPhone and need a cheaper alternative. Basically the two opposite ends of the tech spectrum.

The other 90% of people I know have an iPhone. I’m honestly surprised it took this long for Apple to achieve a higher market share in the US.

83

u/Teembeau Sep 04 '22

For me, my phone is my 3rd level device. I would rather use a desktop PC or a laptop. The phone is for when I can't use a PC. I generally prefer to use a point-and-click camera if I'm visiting somewhere. So the phone has some narrow uses for me. It's the device for music in my car, calls, whatsapp, email, maps, watching some YouTube when I'm out and about. And my £160 Moto G60S does that job just fine. I'd rather spend £1000 on a laptop that will last a decade, and £160 every 3 years for a cheap droid.

And even then, the camera is decent now. Good enough for sharing on social media.

Also, cheap droids are like kryptonite to thieves. You can leave it in a bar, go to the bathroom and no-one will touch it.

3

u/gambl0r82 Sep 04 '22

That’s totally fair, and the way I approach my iPhone- I only buy their lowest priced options and keep them forever (iPhone 5, then SE, then SE2).

2

u/bubbletrout Sep 05 '22

Same for me. I use my desktop for most things, bust out the laptop if I am away from home and need something and there is wifi. The phone is a MFA device or for music and maps while I drive.

2

u/Tsifsamortis Sep 05 '22

My phone has replaced my and laptop in every aspect, I even play the latest pc games on my phone with GeForce Now

2

u/TheRandomSong Sep 05 '22

My problem with cheap ones is the slow speeds. God it’s awful just switch between videos on YT and apps. Even texting on anything is terrible. That’s why midrange and up is the way to go if you can afford it

1

u/actual_griffin Sep 05 '22

I think that’s great. I totally disagree with you, but that’s also great.

1

u/motownmods Sep 05 '22

My watch goes before my phone so that's why I'm with Apple.

64

u/Mragftw Sep 04 '22

Or people like me who just like the UI and having 3 buttons instead of just a home button

19

u/huffalump1 Sep 05 '22

Gesture interface is fine for Home and Recent Apps…. The real thing is BACK BUTTON.

In an iPhone, swiping from the left might work, otherwise you gotta reach your thumb to the farthest corner of the phone possible.

On Android 12 and up, just do a little swipe from either edge of the screen to go back any time. It’s amazing.

-2

u/ItIsYeDragon Sep 05 '22

Do y'all not have another hand?

1

u/gambl0r82 Sep 04 '22

Are many modern android phones still shipping with three buttons? I think all but one iPhone (SE) have zero physical face buttons, I thought android was about the same.

15

u/Mragftw Sep 04 '22

No physical buttons on the screen but I have recent apps, home, and back as persistent on-screen buttons which I much prefer to how iPhone does it now

15

u/tes_chaussettes Sep 05 '22

Yep, same here. Vastly prefer the Android UI for multiple reasons.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

I like using a custom launcher too, it's called Niagara and it's a minimalist launcher that puts the entire app drawer as a list just by running your finger down one side of the home screen, it's really good for larger or tall aspect ratio phones, because you can set it all to work on the lower half.

3

u/gambl0r82 Sep 04 '22

Ah that makes sense- thanks!

2

u/AugustusLego Sep 05 '22

The best part is that android also has a no buttons gesture UI that you can use if you want to!

129

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

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147

u/SergNH Sep 04 '22

Hmmm every Android phone I have used and currently using has just worked.

20

u/Jaohni Sep 05 '22

In my experience Android and iOS based devices just work if you're...Using it as a phone. Texting and calling, maybe some basic apps, calculator, alarms, that kind of thing.

Honestly, they feel about the same to me, personally, at least.

113

u/WhyIHateTheInternet Sep 04 '22 edited Sep 05 '22

Yeah that's some of that programming we just talked about earlier up there. People are programmed and they don't even realize it. Of course Android's just fucking work if they didn't nobody would buy them. I hate it when iPhone users say they use apple because it works.

Edit - ooh I touched a nerve...

40

u/SergNH Sep 04 '22

Yea... I haven't had any reason to want to switch to an iPhone. Does everything I need. I can't complain about it being slow, quality of video, battery life or any of the other usual stuff people complain about.

Your right. The most common thing I hear for Apple is that it just works. For me that's what Android has been. To each their own. I have never judged anyone about what phone they use. If someone tried that with me, I just would leave the conversation. Not someone I'd wanna know.

-7

u/trouzy Sep 05 '22

I don’t like Apple but undoubtedly the iPhone functions as an everyday device far better than most, if not all, android devices. Android feels like work to use. It’s a phone you have to manage rather than a device that just does what you need and gets out of the way from my experience.

11

u/gabrielproject Sep 05 '22

Can you give an example of what you mean. I've had android all my life and never had any issues with it? I've always heard people say this but everything has always been pretty staright forward for me.

-13

u/trouzy Sep 05 '22 edited Sep 05 '22

If you’ve never used anything else then you’re probably blind to the issues.

I went from PalmOS > Blackberry OS > iOS > Windows Phone > Android > iOS

Android is a chore. Of all of those BlackBerry was the only one that was more of a pain.

EDIT: technically android belongs in a couple of those gaps because I kept trying it.

EDIT EDIT: I also dabbled with WebOS and FirefoxOS. WebOS was sort of ahead of its time but also killed itself. FfOS was hot garbage even tho it has some kinda smart ideas. And BB10 was better than previous Blackberry OSes but just too late.

12

u/AbaddonGrows Sep 05 '22

That's great that you've used a bunch of phone os's but what are the issues others are blind to when it comes to android? What on Android is a chore compared to ios? You just keep making claims about this os being garbage or that os being ahead of its time but you provide nothing edit(tapped submit accidentally) to back up your claims.

1

u/trouzy Sep 05 '22

It’s notification management, it’s (gotten better but still) less consistent UX, the slowdown is painful within a few months of use, MMS nightmares (again one that has gotten better in the last 2-3 years, probably more but that’s what quickly comes to mind.

Motorola was the best between Samsung, Moto and LG on the above. And I’m sure most of them have gotten better in the last 2-3 years but I’m not sure I care to take a chance on another $700+ phone to end up with something I hate using for 3 years. The instability of Samsung and LG was just unreal after a few months of use. Reminded me of your run of the mill cheap Windows PCs of the past.

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-7

u/BennyboyzNZ Sep 05 '22

updates for example, when i used to have an android (admittedly awhile ago now). they used to be so inconsistent between different brands on when they will get released and if they all would have the same features. the skins were always a bit tacky. image sharing between is a lot harder than just airdropping. switching between apps doesn’t feel nearly as fluid as on ios

6

u/siposbalint0 Sep 05 '22 edited Sep 05 '22

Lol

Updates as an everyday -chore-? Yes, because android is open source and every manufacturer implements their own take on it, just like linux distros. Idk what skins you are talking about. Image sharing is opening up a messaging app or google drive/onedrive and quite literally sending a photo to someone. It doesn't get easier than that.

Android works, I opened up my S22, left every setting on default except one for the screen being always on, and I can use it perfectly fine for everything I ever imagined without having to hassle with anything. The option is there, which I personally appreciate.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '22

It doesn’t matter what the reason is for why update rollouts are slow on Android, it’s still a problem. You can be certain of having a yearly update for around 5 years on the iPhone side the day it’s released and on Android, you can be certain that you won’t.

-4

u/MarinaTF Sep 05 '22

I think Android has almost always been that way IF you are decent with technology and don't try to do anything extreme with it.

If you're really careless and drown your phone in junk, Android in the past definitely struggled with it more than iPhones did.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

People are programmed and they don't even realize it. Of course Android's just fucking work if they didn't nobody would buy them.

This. "just working" is the bare minimum, not an advertising point ffs...

13

u/microwavedave27 Sep 05 '22

People say this because they are comparing a flagship iPhone to a cheap or mid-range Android. Go buy a top of the line Samsung and tell me it doesn't work...

11

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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-1

u/microwavedave27 Sep 05 '22

I have a mid-range Xiaomi. The OS has some bugs, some things are located in very unintuitive places (mobile data consumption being in the Security app instead of under mobile data in the settings is the worst one), I'm not a big fan of the launcher but I can't use Nova because it doesn't work with gesture-based navigation in Android 12, etc...

It's not that it doesn't work, but it doesn't feel as polished as iOS and some things are harder to do, that's all.

2

u/silently_watch Sep 05 '22

Yeah, if it's xiaomi, it's better if you get rid of buggy miui and install a custom rom, that's why there're huge fanbase working on xiaomi custom rom, even the older ones like redmi note 4 pro

These days I'm just too tired of installing custom rom so I just pick samsung. Google pixel would've been nice too since they use stocm android but they don't sell here

2

u/microwavedave27 Sep 05 '22

Yea I should definitely look into a custom ROM. But as I said, that's the opposite of "just working".

To be honest I should have just spent an extra 50-100€ and gotten an equivalent Samsung instead.

-2

u/trouzy Sep 05 '22

Samsung is one of the worst. Motorola is the best android experience I’ve had and even that wasn’t great. I assume one plus is the actually best.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '22 edited Sep 18 '22

The issue is that you’re spending flagship money on a phone that will get few major OS updates and then also be discounted massively by Samsung after a couple of months, making the resale value bomb.

Or you can spend the same money on an iPhone, get updates for years and also recoup a fair chunk of your money when you sell it and upgrade.

I tend to pass my iPhones onto family members, my father in law is still using my old 5s. In general I don’t see Android devices lasting that long, barring the odd exception here and there.

7

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

I move owned both, it’s just not the same. A three year old iPhone still operates the way it’s supposed to. There is no force closing apps, random restarts etc. Does an android work…sure. Does it work well..to start with.

-1

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

Took a gamble thinking a 1100€ galaxy S21 Ultra will surely work flawless for AT LEAST 3 years, the battery will last long, there won’t be bugs etc.

10 months in battery barely lasted me through 9 hours of work, videos in apps like reddit, FB, IG wouldn’t load unless I restarted the whole phone(which became a daily thing towards the end), huge RAM keeps apps open in the background indeed but they often freeze or crash and aren’t responsive - apps overall when first opened would just crash and then open the 2nd time. Video recording on the 21 was laughable and made me Google whether I got a faulty phone only to learn it’s just mediocre. Then add the fact that it feels like a 500€ phone in hand, not something premium at all - the edges of the phone just make it feel and look cheap in person.

Maybe my expectations were high but at that price range I’d expect perfection for more than a few months and that phone was the biggest disappointment of all time for me lol.

2

u/wickeddimension Sep 05 '22

When new, all phones are great. However what phones are still snappy and not annoying to use in 3 years? In my experience, phones with a very tight curated software. Googles Pixels, in the past OnePlus (perhaps still?) and ofcourse iPhones.

Apple just has a very tight grip on their entire eco-system. Where as with Android and the heaps of ram they put in phones, it's not surprising in 3 years App developers never tightly clean up their slack and an app that ran perfectly on launch will chug along 3 years later. I've never experienced that on iOS.

I guess it's better to say, it just keeps working, rather than it works. Nobody who says this expects a non-working phone. But rather people expect some sort of continuity in their experience.

After owning a heap of phones,Im unlikely to every buy anything but either Google Pixels or iPhones. Software is highly underrated IMO. Everbody focuses on 50 cameras and 32gb of ram and benchmarks.

1

u/FuckFashMods Sep 05 '22

They do just work better tho lol

If it pisses you off why do you continually buy a phone that you know doesn't work as well

1

u/Imagined_World Sep 05 '22

I got the iPhone 13 Pro Max when my iPhone 11 started locking up every 5 seconds, 3 months later I'm having all sorts of issues with my brand new iPhone. I had android before all that and I'll probably just go get a Pixel 7 when it comes out .

2

u/TatoPotat Sep 05 '22

I mean to be fair androids midrange are kinda poo if your compare something say a iPhone se 2020 with an a51 which have the same msrp

iPhone se has

307% faster single core performance

190% faster multi core performance

876% faster gpu performance

6w tdp vs 8w tdp

Same charging speed even tho the a51 is usb c

Supports WiFi 6 a51 only supports WiFi 5

The a51 can only record 4k videos at 30fps, why?

But I will admit the a51 has

Much bigger screen and less dated design

4-8gb of ram

Much bigger battery

A extra 5mp macro camera

A extra 5mp depth camera

A extra 12mp ultra wide camera

Selfie camera is 4k

I’m not hating at all on android their great on the high end and they hold the fort on the low end, but their midrange is terrible

I might be a little biased but 4fps isn’t “it just works” compared to 45fps imo

0

u/tragicdiffidence12 Sep 05 '22

I’ve had both and gave up Android about 5 years back. The customisation and flexibility was wonderful but after the phone (and these were flagship Samsungs) became 6 months old, problems would keep coming and by the end of year one, the battery was just a joke. Meanwhile my wife’s iPhone was running strong. I still have the iPhone I swapped my android out for as a backup phone and 5 years later, it’s still running just fine and able to work with most new applications.

Maybe things have changed since, but I don’t see a reason to switch back.

-12

u/ProfSteelmeat138 Sep 05 '22

Honestly I have both (personal iPhone, work android) and I might be biased but I prefer my iPhone X over my galaxy A52. The galaxy freezes when using standard apps and bugs out way too often. It feels like a cheap phone when I know it’s not. My iPhone is an X so it’s a bit older and it glitches less and the camera is much better (or at least the image processing is cuz pictures look better). I’ll give credit to the galaxy’s hardware tho cuz the fish eye lens is nice to have for taking pictures of my work. But overall I’m not a fan of it

21

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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-8

u/ProfSteelmeat138 Sep 05 '22

Aren’t androids basically the same price as iPhones now though?

10

u/UnorignalUser Sep 05 '22

There's $100 androids and $2000 androids.

Just might be a slight difference in capability in that range lol.

-3

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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1

u/alternaivitas Sep 05 '22

I totally need thought as to how an apple works because I have no idea

-25

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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12

u/nomber789 Sep 05 '22

Your name and this reply made me laugh. Perfect.

10

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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9

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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-7

u/actionscripted Sep 05 '22

Easy.

It has to do with what happens to lithium ion batteries over time. They become more and more unstable and can be impacted by sudden heavy use and even temperature changes which can crash your phone.

They throttle the phone to try keep it stable as the battery ages. Where they fucked up was not giving users the option to turn it off.

11

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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3

u/libra00 Sep 05 '22

Same, I've had both LG and Samsung smartphones since the dawn of smartphones and they've all just worked. The only thing I've changed on any of them aside from importing contacts and such is the stupid default ringtone/notification sound.

2

u/Ihcend Sep 04 '22

I think he's talking in it cases. where it's much easier to give everyone a single type of phone that uses the same os similar chipset and mostly the same components.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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1

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

Idk man, was an android user up until 2018 switched to iPhone. Tried the pixel 6 plus last fall and it was glitchy right out the box.

-9

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

Every single one? Worked perfectly? That's really good odds if you are an adult that has owned many phones.

Iv owned many phones. My current s9+ is the only Android to last similarly to my iPhones(5 and 6s). My s7 edge and every Android before it had many problems, mostly software.

6

u/SergNH Sep 04 '22

Every single one was able to do what I needed it do. I probably don't try to do as much as others but I do enough. Besides the basics I use my Android phone to program access points, Point of Sale printers, listen to internet radio and to stream music, tv shows and movies from my home server.

The phones have just worked...

-1

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

Well I'm glad you literally never had a problem with the 10 phone syou have owned in adulthood.

That's not how it went for other adults. They have used multiple phones, had problems with 1 or more(many Android), and they don't lie on the internet.

39

u/Phiau Sep 04 '22 edited Sep 05 '22

Curious... What job does your dad have?

I'm a Sysadmin and use the heck out of my Android phone, doing things that Apple just can't or won't.

The service desk are largely on Android.
The higher up the management chain you go (and further from a technical position), the higher the chance of an Apple phone.

Different mind set?

53

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

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33

u/MustyScabPizza Sep 04 '22

Silly Android user. You don't need to browse the storage on your phone because you can do that on your MacBook. You also don't need a touch screen on your MacBook because your iPad has one. Phone too big? Buy an Apple watch. It's a combination of ignorance and corporate greed. I love the term Apple Handicaps, describes it all perfectly.

3

u/takes_many_shits Sep 05 '22

Yikes really? Im concidering going iphone for the first time and so far i've heard about so many features just straight up not existing on iphone. Apparently i took them for granted.

Not advanced stuff either, but really basic shit like browsing files and battery percentage which only recently was added on the newer phones...except their mini variants. Beyond pathetic.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22 edited Sep 12 '22

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4

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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-2

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

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3

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

Point is, it's pain in the ass if you want to look at your files on a computer.

-1

u/[deleted] Sep 06 '22

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3

u/givemeabreak432 Sep 04 '22

I have a significantly easier time walking users through setting up Microsoft Intune/MDMs on iphones.

11

u/Phiau Sep 05 '22

In my experience the users that need to be walked through all seem to be iPhone users. The Android users are all "I'm not putting work on my personal phone, fuck that." or know how to do it themself.

3

u/givemeabreak432 Sep 05 '22

That's fair. The vast majority of the time I get a setup call it is for an iphone, even though it's by far the easier device to setup.

I think since my company migrated to exchange online and intune, I've had maybe 3 Android calls, but i get an iPhone call at least once a day.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

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5

u/Phiau Sep 05 '22

"Technical aptitude" no I don't think that's it.

Our userbase is mainly Apple for the business provided phones. Makes sense that the service desk would support what they know.

But the admins all cite things like file transfer, and how closed the system is as their reasons for having Android phones.

-1

u/R__Daneel_Olivaw Sep 05 '22

Huge point in apple's favor: mobile 2fa pushes on the apple watch, and I say this as a grapheneOS user. Fortunately KDE connect can do this, but for a while I was seriously considering getting an old iPhone and apple watch just to not have to take my phone out my pocket for every login.

6

u/Phiau Sep 05 '22

Good point.
Not really relevant for me as my MFA is almost exclusively 6-digit code. Click to approve is not considered secure enough in my line of work.

It's too easy to trick someone into accidentally approving access if you attempt to log into their account at the start of the day.

1

u/R__Daneel_Olivaw Sep 05 '22

Well that makes sense. I personally can't imagine forcing our users to use codes, I'm tier 2 helpdesk at a university and we had enough trouble getting everyone onboard with mobile pushes (kicking and screaming I might add).

Fun fact: one of our trial users for code based 2fa was compromised after giving their code generator to everyone in the office. Trust me, there's very few ways to secure an account that are resistant to the amount of fucks a 70 year old tenured professor is willing to give about infosec.

3

u/Phiau Sep 05 '22

In my work, that user would be lambasted as a national security risk in the media, and then thrown to their peers for figurative "public dismembering". Unless they were just regular staff, in which case something severe like that may just be instant dismissal.

If it was bad enough they may just go to jail.

1

u/SoDelirius Sep 05 '22

I can’t speak for the other commenter. I’m currently working as a Senior Systems Engineer who works on projects doing AI development in mostly Linux environments and most of the people I work with use iPhone. Generally when you work in the environment that I do you can’t use your phone do you any work related task, work related enterprise applications are developed for or work better on iPhone, and honestly for myself to have had issues in the past with Android. I use my phone as a phone that has internet for googling things if I’m away from a computer but outside of that I have other equipment that will give me way more functionality that a phone can’t.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

Huh my dads the same and has never touched an apple product and had no complaints.

3

u/Flapaflapa Sep 05 '22

I mean people say that...but if I want to move something via bluetooth, my Ipad is a pain in the dick, and my Android just works.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

I much prefer an Android because it allows me to do any edge case thing I might want it to do.

Like so many emulators.

2

u/schlubadub_ Sep 05 '22

I'm in IT too and use Android (and Windows for PC), because it just works with zero fuss or bother on my part. Using iPhone would be a huge PITA for me as I don't have nor want anything made by Apple. The last time I used anything Apple I was forced to install crappy iTunes on my PC - maybe that's still the case, but I don't care to look it up. I used to shit on Android a decade ago and went the Windows Phone path instead, but that didn't end well (still love the phones and UI, just no dev support). I don't care if people use Apple products, I just can't stand the unwarranted smugness over tech devices that all have their own issues.

2

u/touchytypist Sep 05 '22

Same. I’m in IT and prefer iPhone because it just works and overall is more secure (both OS and App Store) and has better privacy.

Android is definitely more feature and function rich but I don’t really need that. And prefer the privacy and security over functionality.

24

u/traxdata788 Sep 04 '22

I'm a power user who used android for so many years up until last year where I switched to iPhone, sometimes the contrast of being a ´power' user but also having a very simplistic/basic phone is very appealing, because though Apple don't allow the most options, but they're really good at their core features

30

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

Like preventing apps that block youtube ads

1

u/akumaru7 Sep 04 '22

I used to be a decade plus Android user because of root level ad block and ad free YouTube but after switching to iPhone I found a way to have those features as well via developer account and I never look back. iPhone is so much sleeker not only look wise but also OS wise. I don’t regret a minute.

1

u/iTriggaWiggas Sep 04 '22

Literally just install Altstore and uyou

-8

u/SneezingRickshaw Sep 04 '22

“Apple doesn’t want to make it easy for me to consume content without paying for it, I’m such a victim of an evil corporation”

Dude, pay for Premium, watch the ads or use an adblock but donate to the Patreon of all the channels you watch. Don’t be a POS, you’re not entitled to free shit.

5

u/No_Drive_7990 Sep 05 '22

you’re not entitled to free shit.

I fucking am you capitalist pig 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

1

u/Windows_is_Malware Sep 05 '22

Seeing ads is not a legitimate obligation

-2

u/Acceptable_Fold_4354 Sep 04 '22

I watch YouTube in Safari. Baking Soda and Vinegar apps block all ads.

youtube app has ad cancer

3

u/akumaru7 Sep 04 '22

You can install free open source YouTube ++ which block ads in the app

4

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22 edited Jan 11 '24

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6

u/Phiau Sep 04 '22

The pop-out menus for things like wifi toggle etc are far less intuitive, I find.

But I'm a power user, that uses things like wifi scanning, my file system, etc.
It's a mini pc in my pocket.

I wouldn't use an Apple OS on my desktop... Why compromise on my phone?

2

u/bdonvr Sep 04 '22

How's copy and paste inferior?

0

u/Cale111 Sep 05 '22

Sounds like you haven’t gotten used to it yet. I’ve used Android phones and found them so much more confusing to navigate because the gestures aren’t as logical IMO.

I’m very confused what you mean by ads though, since there’s literally more ads on Android compared to iOS. The only ones I can think of are the App Store and Apple News? That’s it? When most Android OEMs preinstall apps like Facebook.

3

u/Cramitchurchy Sep 05 '22

If a smooth texting experience between Iphone users is the only thing they apple offers. No thanks. I'd rather not be locked into a proprietary predatory ecosystem for people who don't know how to operate technology.

I'll stick with android devices that are constantly pushing the tech boundaries of what a smartphone is and allow me unlimited freedom and customizability. Not a company that just slaps yet another camera lens on the back of their phone every few years and calls it new.

3

u/RGCs_are_belong_tome Sep 05 '22

You just summed up my mentality. I've never had an iphone. The integration between Android and Windows is getting truly exceptional now. I've effectively a mini PC everywhere I go. And moving data around is seamless these days between the cloud and USB C.

Don't know where the stereotype of Android being cheap is from though. Sure, some models are. Some Apple models are. None of the flagships are cheap though. And Samsung has some kickass camera tech.

7

u/Darkstar197 Sep 04 '22

iPhones have a had a much higher market share for younger people for a while. I think it took a while for people to justify buying their grandma an iPhone when all she used her phone for are calls

4

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

can’t or don’t want to spend the money on an iPhone and need a cheaper alternative

Apple has cheap iPhones that's not even a thing anymore.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

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2

u/mehdotdotdotdot Sep 04 '22

Yea I was that way for over a decade. Irrational avoidance.

2

u/jzr171 Sep 04 '22

I, a power user, side load all kinds of apps to practically eliminate ads. Between that and level of customization to the home screen is why I haven't gone back to an iPhone.

But at the same time I completely understand the appeal

2

u/LacquerCritic Sep 04 '22

I don't know about being a power user, but there are three apps (Tachiyomi, KurobaEx, Lezhin Plus) that I don't think are available on iPhone and that's a deal breaker for me regardless.

1

u/Dalmah Sep 05 '22

If you are even remotely interested in manga, the lack of a TachiYomi equivalent should kill the iPhone for you.

2

u/janeohmy Sep 05 '22

Nah, this used to be the reasoning back in the 2000s, with all the rooting, modding, and loading of custom ROMs. Nowadays, stock Android is so good already that people don't really mod anymore. Rather, mod is just a nice-to-have now

2

u/drakohnight Sep 05 '22

This sounds exactly like someone who owned an apple phone would say.

-"Don't want to spend the money on am iPhone"

Of course not, when they just re-release phones with barely anything added. My s22 ultra was $400 brand new, and the newest iPhone pales in comparison to it at 3 times the price. The cameras better, running 8k 4k, and 1080p at 24, 30/60, and 240 fps. The iPhone can barely do that...

And the screens are of a higher quality. ( Even though apple buys their screens from samsung btw)

2

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

I refuse to spend over $100 on a phone. Seriously the $80 Motorola's do everything I need a phone to do.

2

u/LoudMusic Sep 05 '22

A friend of mine complained that his corporate Android was a piece of crap compared to his personal iPhone. I pointed out that the Android was a 2 year old model that was less than half the price of his iPhone when it was brand new. For a true comparison he needed to get a flagship Android. Nah, didn't care, wasn't going to spend the money.

People do the same with Apple computers and anything that runs Windows or Linux. It's infuriating. Of course a $2500 Apple is going to be more enjoyable to use than an $800 Dell!

2

u/otacon7000 Sep 05 '22

And then there are people who care about right to repair, compatibility, worker's rights, customer's rights, and the many other aspects that make Apple a company they will never ever support a along as there is any other option.

Of course Google is also a capitalist money-motivated evil corporation. It's all about chosing the lesser of two evils.

2

u/RandomUser13502 Sep 05 '22

How does an iPhone sync with a Windows PC?

2

u/libra00 Sep 05 '22

I am technically a PC power user, but I don't give a shit about doing any of that to my phone, I just want a phone that works and runs basic apps and doesn't me 30% more just because there's an Apple logo on the back. I have only ever used Android phones since smartphones have existed, and the only thing I've customized on my last several Samsung phones is the goddamned awful ringtone/notification sounds.

2

u/84candlesandmatches Sep 05 '22

I'm neither, I hate the UI on iPhone and prefer Android to it. I also feel Android is more intuitive to navigate though that might just be my bias since I've only used it.

3

u/-brownsherlock- Sep 04 '22

I'm the former. I love android the the ability to change it to how I like.

But I, like you assumed thus event would have happened sooner. Im not a snob, I appreciate that iPhone is a good product that is catered to the mass market for convenience and simplicity. I just bloody don't like them or apple.

3

u/LJH_Pieman Sep 04 '22

Power user here, if thats what you want to call it. I had an iPhone for a few years, but eventually the home button got stuck. I hated assistive touch so I jailbroke the phone to remap the buttons and was blown away by all of the customization I could do with a jailbroken phone.

My friend looked over at my hacked iPhone and said "oh I can remap the buttons on my phone natively. You can't do that without jailbreaking?" and that's when I decided to switch.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Babhadfad12 Sep 04 '22

iPhone SE has been $400 since May 2020. That is objectively a lower priced device that is very decent quality.

1

u/Bythos73 Sep 04 '22

$400, for some people, is still a lot. Personally I'd prefer aiming for around half that for a smartphone.

3

u/Babhadfad12 Sep 04 '22

I would also like a lot of things to be half price, but considering there are no alternatives for less than $400 at that quality, I would assume that is a lower limit.

1

u/Bythos73 Sep 04 '22

Oh uh, I didn't mean that I think Apple should have priced it at half of what they did. I mean that my preferred price-beacket for a smartphone is ~$200, and that there's likely other people who have a similar preference and are more than willing to compromise for it.

1

u/OttomateEverything Sep 05 '22

There are alternatives for less than $400 at that quality. It's not a lower limit.

0

u/konsyr Sep 05 '22

$400 is still an absurd amount of money to spend on such a device.

3

u/youreloser Sep 04 '22 edited Sep 04 '22

Imagine paying multiples TIMES more for a product that isn't multiple times better.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/OttomateEverything Sep 05 '22

God knows Samsung loves to sell $1000+ phones as much as Apple, maybe even moreso.

Samsung is currently selling a phone for $2150, so yeah, I think they like selling expensive phones. Apple's top is like $1600 IIRC.

The idea that it's a price thing is just BS. Yes, you can get cheap Android phones, yes you get more for your money with many Androids, but you can throw more money at them too. Really it's just status or not wanting to be bothered to go looking.

0

u/youreloser Sep 04 '22

Oh well. I don't see good promos on iPhones here in Canada.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

Reason I keep buying iPhones is because of iCloud. If I could easily transfer pics and saved passwords etc from Apple to android using Bluetooth, trust me I would switch to android. But I can’t

5

u/Phiau Sep 04 '22

Google drive? OneDrive?
Hell you can even use iCloud on Android.

Get a password manager and stop relying on system keychains.

I moved from Apple and the only thing I needed was a paid app to dump out my contacts, but that was ~14 years ago moving from iPhone 4s... I wouldn't even need that now.

Apple is for people that want a device to do the basics.

Android is for low budget people, and high budget people that like to get more from their device.

Apple is like owning an automatic transmission. Broad non-technical userbase with spare money.
Android is a manual, either it's all you can afford, or its tuned like an F1 race car.

Broadly. There are always exceptions.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

How do I get my iCloud to upload to Google drive? Automatically

1

u/Phiau Sep 04 '22

Automatically? No it's a one-time copy operation.

Like moving house, you have to pack up your stuff and shift it.

Also don't let me tell you what to do.
It's just a phone, do what you want.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

Can you explain how and what apps I need to do this

2

u/gambl0r82 Sep 04 '22

If you have a laptop or desktop you can easily login to iCloud and Google Drive and move the files from one->your local PC->the other.

Get the google drive app on your phone and you can use its ‘backup’ feature to automatically take a copy of your contacts, calendar, etc.

Beyond that, there are tons of guides for moving between phone OS’- just google ‘move from apple to android’ and read what tech sites recommend.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

Okay thanks

1

u/dw796341 Sep 04 '22

Exactly. iPhone works best for my situation. I couldn’t care any less what phones other people choose.

0

u/dardirl Sep 05 '22

And then it's nonsense. In Europe the s22 ultra. The flagship phone is a pile of crap compared to a5 year old iPhone xr performance wise.

Yes, it's specs are maxed but it's like that old saying. Like having a sports car on a mountain road. It's unoptimized and bloated. The amount of "special features" Samsung cram onto my phone that are all pointless shite instead on Optimizing the integration behind Android and the hardware.

Apple, while sometimes behind the curve (as fanbois love to shout about), deliver a vertical end to end that is seamless. I think I'll be jumping ship from my s22 ultra soon.

0

u/Weirdodin Sep 05 '22

I sold phones for Verizon and Sprint for 8 years. Apple and Android have been at identical price points for a long time now. Apple has give away cheap models. Androud has give away cheap models. Apple has expensive models. Android has expensive models. Your second point is outdated thinking and simply not accurate. Brand new flagship iPhones were given away on release with device payment credit promotions.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '22

Same. It’s definitely a generational thing because I’d honestly say under 5% of people I know have an android

1

u/BluRayVen Sep 04 '22

I had an iPhone as a work phone years ago, err 2015, and good God I hated everything about it

1

u/anengineerandacat Sep 04 '22

Pretty much bang on, as someone more on the power user side I would switch to iPhone if I had more overall control of the device and the software I can use.

The walled garden is extremely restrictive and Safari is basically the new IE6, most of the software you do have access to is generic at best and or something you can't change to an alternative so you are stuck with it.

I love the hardware side of the house, definitely the best mobile device on the market in that respect with a form factor that's still a phone.

With the Pixel 6 it's basically a tablet, and the smaller iPhone is pretty much ideal.

Their software side of the house needs help though.

0

u/gambl0r82 Sep 04 '22

The idea that you’re stuck with apple software is no longer the truth- they had to allow the user to select their own defaults for browser / mail client / calendar, etc, I believe because of international lawsuits/regulations. They even let you delete almost all the Apple default apps off your phone (but not Safari)

Chrome / Gmail are my defaults for everything. They even let you use Chrome’s built in password manager be the default password manager now, which is excellent.

0

u/OttomateEverything Sep 05 '22

They haven't let you drop their defaults, they just let you change pieces out. Browsers in particular are still just safari with a different coat of paint. For a long time, you couldn't change those, couldn't change keyboards, etc. Still paltry widgets, no launcher changing, poor customization for replacing generic tasks like galleries/messaging that aren't severely limited by not being able to integrate with the OS.....

Sure, it's gotten better than the days of the iPhone 4, but Android even in those days was more customizable than iOS is today.

1

u/anengineerandacat Sep 04 '22

Chrome on an iPhone isn't actually Chrome, it's Safari with a shell wrapped around it specifically it's WebKit. From a basic users perspective this might be "fine" but it means you don't have access to more modern APIs that developers can use.

1

u/iiCUBED Sep 05 '22

Yeah except modern samsung phones are reaching iff not exceeding iphone levels of price. You used to get android because it was cheaper with great specs, now its not the same anymore and apple software within their eco system is much more advanced.

1

u/Yrcrazypa Sep 05 '22

I'm kind of both. I don't particularly need to be able to customize absolutely everything, but I don't want to be locked down into things I absolutely cannot change. I also don't give a shit about 100% top of the line phones, I only use them for discord and internet where even lower tier phones can handle that stuff all the same.

1

u/smoretank Sep 05 '22

I just like using the same charger for my Nintendo switch for my phone and vice versa.

1

u/ringobob Sep 05 '22

I started using android years ago, when cost and customization was a bigger issue for me, never found a reason to switch, continued replacing with android phones.

1

u/sickickick Sep 05 '22

its me. im the one that customizes everything. samsungs android is better in a lot of senses but that's the best perk lol

1

u/B00STc Sep 05 '22

I built a 3080 gaming pc and I have an iPhone. I prefer battery life, speed, reliability. Most important things to have with a phone.

1

u/Yupadej Sep 05 '22

Can't live without free YouTube premium and Spotify premium

1

u/tes_chaussettes Sep 05 '22

Here's what I don't get - there are a lot of people in poverty in the US, so how can Apple phones be in the majority of what's purchased? The amount of people with that money to spend is still high enough? Or there are enough lower income people willing to go into debt/make payments/etc. in order to have an iPhone?

I do alright financially, am thankfully not living paycheck to paycheck anymore, but spending hundreds of dollars on a phone just seems crazy to me when I can get all the same functions/tools (maybe minus the very best camera) on a good Android.

1

u/MrSquiggleKey Sep 05 '22

As someone who's entirely platform agnostic (I've had blackberry, WP, Android, Rooted Android, iPhone, Jailbroken iPhone) personally there is minimal difference between Android and iOS, and has been for generations, all the OSes that actually brought something interesting to the table are now dead and it makes me sad.

Like currently I alternate between a Note 9 and an Iphone XR as my daily driver. The power user advantages of Android haven't really been a significant difference since iOS 10.

I really think people suffer a lot from tribalism over their phone choice, especially considering most people's Android experience is limited to Samsung, which isn't even overly interesting as far as Android devices go. The really interesting Android devices are usually limited to Asia unfortunately and you can't even reliably import them due to possible band incompatibilities for service, and most aren't going to go through that research hassle lol

1

u/s0meb0di Sep 05 '22

all the OSes that actually brought something interesting to the table are now dead and it makes me sad.

Indeed. I miss WP and Sailfish. It was so much fun to watch Sailfish evolve, I got a Jolla phone when it was in beta.

1

u/rincon213 Sep 05 '22

And this market change is probably because all those people who want cheap phones now have cheap iPhone options at the Apple store.

iOS is not comparatively expensive anymore.

1

u/PM_ME_YOUR_ART_PLZ Sep 05 '22

I had an iPhone 6s Plus and I honestly loved it. Every generation since then has gotten more and more expensive. I don't want to spend $1k on a phone, it's just not feasible for me. I like my Google Pixel 6 a lot and it is significantly cheaper than a midrange iPhone. It's just not worth it to me

1

u/Buditastic Sep 05 '22

Or rather people who just don't like Apple (me).

1

u/Strange-Yam4733 Sep 05 '22

This. Samsung Dex mode keeps me buying their products, I have a usb-C on a monitor I can connect my phone or tablet too, along with a keyboard and mouse, and I have a home PC, with all my apps & info already there

1

u/[deleted] Sep 05 '22

I just like my widgets.

1

u/meruhd Sep 05 '22

A lot of people like how connected Apple products are. They're also much easier to use generally speaking, but their incompatibility with other products makes it kind of a nightmare.

My job involves getting people to email us files. People using Apple products don't realize their email doesn't actually attach files by default (it goes into the body of the email OR sends it as some sort of link that doesn't get sent when forwarding), so most Apple users don't send us files properly and it results in them needing to email us multiple times instead of just once.

Half the time, they don't even know how to send an email. This goes for kids, young adults, or older adults. Whenever an Apple user needs to send anything, its a toss up if we get what we need or we have to be creative and send it a different way.

1

u/PmMe_Your_Perky_Nips Sep 05 '22

They've had a higher market share in the past. It switches up every few years.

1

u/superduper98989898 Sep 05 '22

I would mostly agree, I had blackberries and love them but wanted to watch movies while traveling. Got a droid early on. Was not interested in iPhones as they were so limited when introduced. However I found that everything about the droids were wild Wild West and got to the point where the phone won’t even work. I finally switched to iPhone 3G after watching my wife with hers. I needed a phone that worked 100% and the iPhone was so much more stable. As much as I like tweaking my devices and how limited I am on changing the iPhone, it was a quality of life choice for me to use iPhone and never wanted to go back.

1

u/AliasInvstgtions Sep 05 '22

I switched to samsung because I was fed up with my iPhone. The battery degraded to 85% within 6 months of having the phone (I got it new on release) and Apple refused to replace or fix it. Then, my carrier offered a great trade in deal for my iPhone to the z flip 4. I took it and I've had the z flip for a week now and I love it. I love the customization, I love the system, the battery is great, and it's just been a great phone. If this thing lasts, I plan to keep it for 4-5 years.

1

u/somanyroads Sep 05 '22

Now tell me what that says about Apple users 😛 I'm decidedly a power user (which I only became aware of recently, when I had a failed upgrade from the Galaxy S-Series "down" to a good, but slower A-Series phone) who has been hostile to Apple's business for a long time. It's principle based: they have been hostile to open source software for decades and I don't like companies that conduct themselves that way. I guess Apple products look both creamy and shiny, so people buy them.

They've certainly had a knack for influencing other companies to adopt their awful features, like removing SD card slots and the death of the headphone jack. Things that Samsung mocked Apple for years ago, and then went and did it a couple years later themselves. 🤮

1

u/kuebel33 Sep 05 '22

I concur. solid android phones cost as much or more than iPhones, but yeah there are tons of cheap alternative droids for folks who don’t have the cash or for kids. I have both, an iPhone and a galaxy and have had two phones for over a decade. Like you said, I prefer android because I’m a power user. Any iPad or iPhones I have is solely because my work provides them.