Apple
Out of context: Reply #1163
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This is anecdotal, but I find it interesting: Nearly all my friends/family have an iPhone – and I do, too. I can probably name 50-60 people (25-40 year-olds) off the top of my head that I know for sure who have an iPhone, but only one person that has Android.
All of us have never even looked at other phone brands when shopping or when it's time to upgrade. We all just sort of casually hear about the new Apple phones, and then get whichever iPhone we think is best. There's an assumption there that iPhones are simply better than all other phones. Some of my friends have spent months deciding or waiting for a new iPhone, but still, haven't considered the alternative.
Now, this month I needed to pick a new carrier, and the only reason I considered anything other than iPhone was because of Google Fi. So I went to a couple shops to try to see what the Nexus looks like, and I realized that since the very first iPhone, I have not even walked into a store to look at phones, nor asked an Android user if they liked their device. Never once. Hadn't even occurred to me. I've ordered all my phones from Apple or got them at an Apple store without once doing any research. 7 or 8 years I've had iPhones, since the first year they were out, and it never occurred to me to look at another phone!?!?
It's not like I'm a superfan of iPhone, but I did like it. Obviously the first-gen iPhone was light years beyond any other smart phone. I even got a Samsung tablet a few years back, and didn't like it (Android wasn't as polished back then.)
Anyway, this behaviour is fascinating to me. Generally when people buy products they spend a lot of time (probably too much) decision-making. But in the case of iPhone users, it's the opposite. They're ignoring most of the options, and without a reason!
I've talked to a few friends about it and they all agreed that they don't have any idea what other phones are like. Some of them could name Samsung (but haven't tried one) but nobody could name a single other phone manufacturer. Honestly, until this month, I didn't know who else made phones, either. I've asked a couple if they think iPhones are better and the response is always similar: "You know? I never thought about it. I don't know! I assume they are, right?"
Another thing I learned – which is far less interesting to me – is that current Samsung phones are much nicer than current iPhones. The Galaxy S and Edge series and the Note 5 are so nice to hold and use. Android looks better than iOS, although I can't yet comment on the user experience. Maybe I'll be cursing Android soon and regretting my decision to switch.
I'm not trying to convert anyone to Samsung or Android, I really don't care. My point is simply that it is fascinating how our consumer behaviour is so unique when shopping for Apple stuff.
- To be fair, there wasn't much incentive for me to ask Android users about their devices, as I did own an Android tablet (that I mostly never use).nb
- i have both. Apple and Android. They both annoy me. I wish we didn't have such strict ecosystems.err
- Also make sure you stop using imessage before you switch or you'll miss alot of text messages.err
- https://selfsolve.ap…err
- Yeah, I use iMessages on my MBP, so I'll catch the messages, just might be a bit later...nb
- Hmm, I just set iMessages to only be accessible via my email account, (i.e. I unchecked my phone number.) I hope that works.nb
- It's called brand loyalty and the difficulty of change/learning a new OS.rosem
- I think it's more than brand loyalty. Brand blindness, perhaps. Key: "You know? I never thought about it. I don't know"Peter
- Yeah, it's brand blindness. Although, Android did suck when it first came out, compared to iOS. Now, it's great.nb