Apple's Popularity With Gen Z Poses Challenges for Android

[NightFlight]

i honestly dont get why android users think it's a flex to spend $1200+ to ruin everyone's group chats that regularly break up into 3+ different threads. and still have to nerve to claim elitism 🤣

your wallet may not be poor but your taste absolutely is. 🤢

Shallow people and children flex, I just use what I like.

ok android lover
young people just don't want to talk to a green bubble, sorry you can't accept that!

I guess you missed my signature and where I said I use both, but okay. Guess you also missed that not everyone uses iMessage, especially outside of the US.

It sucks because it is a pool of malware that allows regular people to get hacked. I’ve seen it more than once personally with coworkers because some wanna be “tech guy” they know put all these free apps on their phone for them and at least one turned out to be a Trojan horse and was recording their keystrokes. This one older person only had this device to access the internet and used it to access banking info. Her account got hacked and they took her paycheck hours after it was deposited. She closed the account and opened another at the same bank, next payday same thing. She switched to a credit union with different security and on payday she got a call asking if she was attempting to transfer all of the money from her account. She had not. She finally listened to me and her son who told her it was likely the phone and switch away from Android, The hacks stopped completely.

So, while there was sarcasm and a bit of fun poking in my post saying Android sucks, it is also very true, especially if you are unlucky enough to happen to download the wrong app.

Thanks for the childish comment too. I had been feeling ancient lately and taking myself and everything else way to seriously, so peace to you.

Never had a virus or issue in 10+ years. If you're downloading malware you're an idiot.

 

[spinedoc77]

The last thing apple needs is to become the dominant smartphone vendor. The regulators will rip it apart. Popularity can be bad.

This. This thought actually has been in the back of my head, especially with the issues Apple is currently having with the iOS store and regulation.

 

[telo123]

Eh, most people just stick with the most comfortable and familiar thing. Most people don’t care enough about the customizability of Android. If they grew up with Macs and iOS devices, there will need to be an eye opening moment that convinces them to switch over.

 

[bluecoast]

In the UK, there are a lot of people with Android phones (and not just Samsung). Among the 40-50 people I interact with regularly, about half have Android phones. As mentioned, everybody in the UK seems to use WhatsApp - probably because of the OS split. The only people I use iMessage with are my Mum (who uses an iPad 90% of the time so no routine access to WhatsApp) and my wife (we have a long iMessage history so we've never bothered to move over to WhatsApp). Every other person or group I interact with is via WhatsApp.

I’m in the uk and it’s very similar for me.

iMessage as a ‘thing’ is 🤷‍♂️ in the uk.

Unfortunately for me, I’m a rapidly ageing gen x, but I’m simply not aware of iMessage having a cachet here in any age group.

People tend to buy it for the design, screen and camera. 3rd party app use is pretty prevalent too - especially with messaging (in my completely non-scientific observations).

But as many other Europeans have said, whilst the iPhone is definitely seen as a premium phone, so is the Samsung Galaxy - and both have a more or less equal status.

 

[compwiz1202]

I totally agree Apple's strategy is paying off. It's interesting but in my household things have played out a bit differently. I'm an Android user, my wife has an iPhone, both my kids have iPads. I purchased my 10 year old's first laptop this weekend and gave her a choice of macOS or Windows, she didn't hesitate in choosing Windows even after I showed her how her iPad could nicely integrate into her macbook. I think she has seen me operate both Windows and macOS enough where she felt Windows was a better option. It will be interesting to see where her taste goes going into the future.

If I didn't have to pay I'd pick Mac. I only don't get Mac because the biggest screen is locked behind overkill specs and pricing. So I stick with my $1k- 17" PC that still does what I need.

 

[spinedoc77]

If there were a revenue incentive, Apple would likely go for it. Google's own incentive is brand, brand, brand. They don't make ad revenue off of apps they put on iOS, they keep you coming back to Google's services and keep that name in your head when you want to search. If you flipped Apple on its head and it were a services company, this would make sense - and that day is surely going to come in the near future when revenue stalls on hardware sales.

Oh I don't disagree with you, although Apples services have been growing just as much as their hardware sales last I checked. They could EASILY charge $5-10/month for non-Apple users to use iMessage. On the surface it's a loss because without their walled garden they might lose a lot of potential hardware sales. But at the same time this hasn't stopped them from opening up Apple TV, Music, and other services which are available on non-Apple hardware. Heck think of how many potential users between Windows and Android they might have with iMessage. They could even keep Apple hardware iMessage as a better option by giving it all the bells and whistles, personally I would be happy just with being able to send full size/resolution pictures and videos and group chat function. Let Apple hardware owners keep facetime, tapbacks, etc.

 

[spinedoc77]

iPhone is better than Android. The latest Samsung device is 20% slower. Open Podcast app and adjust voice speed to 0.75x…that’s Android

You're right. It was just this morning I was so happy that my apps on my iPhone open up 0.000001883 seconds faster than on my Android phone. I added up all that time, opening up 20 apps/day over a projected 85 years of life got me 3.45 seconds more of living.

 

[twolf2919]

When did I say this was new?

If it's not new, why does it bear mentioning then?

 

[compwiz1202]

Same and before I got my iPhone, I had no issues using my pixel to text with my brother who always has had an iPhone.

And I've had iPhone even before iMessage. If I know someone wanted to print a pic or watch a video outside the iDevice, I would email it to keep its original size.

 

[spinedoc77]

If I didn't have to pay I'd pick Mac. I only don't get Mac because the biggest screen is locked behind overkill specs and pricing. So I stick with my $1k- 17" PC that still does what I need.

I think part of her decision was on features that some Windows PC's have like touchscreens, ability to use pens and such. She also sees me struggle on a daily basis with macOS. She ended up with a Surface Pro which to her gives her all the advantages of a full PC and an iPad.

 

[jlc1978]

Gen Z is also the generation that is into social media so they can become influencers and not have to work. What keeps an influencer going?, the quality of their social media video's and pictures and at the moment Apple is king in this area because they have a superior mobile phone camera than the majority of android phones do BUT all it will take in my opinion is for one of the android phone manufacturers to make a far superior camera in their phone that blows the iphone camera out of the water, not only in hardware and software too and at a price that is affordable to the masses and then again in my opinion the iphone will be close to dead because everyone would be raving about the quality of video's and pictures they are seeing and thus asking what device produced them and where can they get one. Until that day occurs Gen Z will still carry on purchasing iphones.

The challenge is camera phones have become so good today that a better one won't offer an adavabtage worth switching over. Good enough and familiarity will trump better. No, if someone sold it for 1/3 the price, then teh story changes.

The alternative you're asking for Apple is to route all texts through Google's own servers. When RCS truly opens up, Apple will support it.

If they open it up they no longer can secure it via encryption since others would have access to the keys.

No I'm not asking for that at all, and if you look at my other comments I note that Google's crappy proprietary solution isn't really a solution and don't blame Apple for not taking that route. Apple is by far not the only company which should take the blame for the sorry state of inter-device messaging.

True RCS will NEVER open up, the carriers abandoned it years ago. But Apple is uniquely positioned with iMessage, and opening it up would do the world a huge amount of good in my opinion. Of course they have a more binding fiduciary duty to their shareholders than to the "world," so that's most likely never going to happen short of mandates.

They could open it up if other manufacturers were willing to license it, pay for it and only use Apple's servers.

 

[Tim Cook's Pool Boy]

People are really that insincure that they really let what phones others use (or themselves) matter?? I use both an iPhone 14 Pro (for video and camera mainly) and my, oh God...gross *gasp* here it comes...my Surface Duo for some Android stuff I like and I full well know the limitations and shortcoming of the Surface Duo. There ARE better Android phones out there (used Pixels for years and Nexus before that). But that's me and I'm "old" at 52 so what do I know?

 

[MacWiz_007]

If it's not new, why does it bear mentioning then?

Because if it is a sad world we live in, we should try to make it less sad. Simple really.

 

[webkit]

"According to the report, younger consumers are concerned about being socially ostracized for not having an iPhone". What a sad, sad world we live in.

The "world" has been that way for ages and will likely continue to be that way as long as there are branded products used by young people whether it be devices/gadgets, clothing/shoes or whatever.

 

[compwiz1202]

Yes, sorry but the kids don’t want to go outside and play with sticks and rocks anymore. They want to interact with with their friends, they want to be able to send a picture without it being a pixelated mess when it shows up on the other end, or IF it ever shows up on the other end. They want to play games with eachother, they want to be able to send emojis that don’t show up as random squares that the other person can’t see, they want to be able to write a long message that doesn’t get broken up into 7 parts which are then all received out of order… all various things that have plagued iOS and Android interaction at one point or another.

Maybe this wasn’t the world we grew up in, but it’s the world they’re growing up in now.

Ooh you reminded me are the 16.4B emojis out yet. My wife doesn't like beta so I send her the new emojis so she gets the squares and ?

 

[MacWiz_007]

The "world" has been that way for ages and will likely continue to be that way as long as there are branded products used by young people whether it be devices/gadgets, clothing/shoes or whatever.

Again, I made no reference to any sort of time frame in my OP.

 

[votdfak]

I can only comment on American culture as that’s where I live, but yes I can confirm people I’ve met from Europe and Asia are VERY into WhatsApp, which is more or less unused here in the states.

I think it grew in popularity there because of the predatory cell service providers who would regularly charge exorbitant fees for international SMS, which isn’t so much of a problem for us. So WhatsApp got a very strong foothold early on, and it’s an established thing there now. It’s a shame Google dropped the ball on making their own non-SMS messaging service, at this point it might be too little too late for it to gain any popularity in the US when iMessage has been around for well over a decade.

Google is a sh*tshow when it comes to messaging apps. Here where I live people are using Whatsapp, Viber, FB Messenger, Telegram, etc. iMessage is not even top 5. Apple ecosystem is the best around, but in my example I wanted something different and I am not a hostage of iMessage.

 

[bobone]

The social aspect truly is a force to be reckoned with; the younger you are, the more prone you are to being influenced by said pressure.

But setting that aside, you have to give credit where due to Apple for capitalizing on that dedicated userbase by focusing on their core strength: that all their devices work really well together. You can call it insidious or brilliant, but I think it's quite beneficial for the end user.

After a certain age, it's not so much about the social pressure (we do grow out of being pressured into things we don't wanna do by our peers, after all), but the convenience of the products we use. I could theoretically drop all my Apple gear today and jump ship to using Android and Windows, but while most of the functionality is there, along with some extras Apple doesn't have, I can't imagine the convenience of getting it to work well together is. Not without more effort on my part.

And that's what I feel keeps many using the same device, be it Apple or Android, Windows or Mac: it's the path of least resistance, the devil we know versus the one we don't.

It's up to the competition to make their devices more enticing, worth switching over to. Not finding ways to destroy the benefits those already using Apple enjoy just to even the playing field.

... and that was a very long-winded blog post.

Having been in the Apple (and non-windows) area for the last decade, I recently had the pleasure of returning to the early 2000s when I received a windows laptop at work. The forgotten joys of blue screens, inconsistent hotkeys, and the incredible search functionality will surely convert me. (Typing this from my mac)

 

[Bardzosz]

It’s the Apple ecosystem. I love being inside the blue bubble.

Also, iPhones are the best smartphone out there in the world. It’s simple as that.

Preference - simple as that. Is the best out there - for anyone thinking that. Not for everyone.

 

[twolf2919]

Android still rules in Germany (and Europe) in general though: market share is 67,8% Android and 32,2% Apple.

Yes, but the Android percentage in most markets, including Germany/Europe, used to be much higher. So the trend towards iPhone is still there.

 

[star-affinity]

"According to the report, younger consumers are concerned about being socially ostracized for not having an iPhone". What a sad, sad world we live in.

Yep. This actually makes me want to move away from iPhone in some kind of attempt to revolt.

 

[Anilu7]

It IS really hard IMO as an Android user with iPhone friends and family. First I would have to trust those companies, and the ones you named I don't really trust very much with my privacy. But besides that I would have to convince every single other iPhone user to download that app, create an account, and use it for messaging between us. Now compound that with the older folks in my messaging group who would never be able to figure out how to switch away from iMessage.

I get it, I'm in the US and we are an outlier, most other countries use 3rd party messaging apps. But that still doesn't change that it would be incredibly complicated to get the dozens of friends, family, business associates, etc I message all on the same wavelength. Seriously who wants to have half a dozen messaging apps on their phone?

Exactly. I’m in Canada so third party apps are more common. I must have 2-3 I use regularly to keep in touch internationally with Android-using friends (I hate the limitations of SMS - no read receipts or high quality images). It’s annoying to have to remember which app to use with different people so I steer them to Signal so at least I have most on the one app. They won’t all use it though.

 

[anthogag]

You're right. It was just this morning I was so happy that my apps on my iPhone open up 0.000001883 seconds faster than on my Android phone. I added up all that time, opening up 20 apps/day over a projected 85 years of life got me 3.45 seconds more of living.

iPhone is 20% faster. 20% of 24 hr = 4.8 hr x 365 days x 85 years = 148,920 iPhone-hours = 17 iPhone-years

 

[spinedoc77]

They could open it up if other manufacturers were willing to license it, pay for it and only use Apple's servers.

Or they could just release a standalone app and still retain their own servers. I'm not a programmer but I would think they could even make it a web app to avoid paying Google their cut. Although with how much clamoring Google has been making about their RCS, and how they already pay Apple billions to be their search engine, I'm sure they could work out some backroom deal. I don't think Windows would be an issue at all.

 

[Bardzosz]

This makes me especially sad, because of the bullying. There are people who would genuinely prefer Android, yet can't use because of peer pressure.