iOS and Android Retain Loyal Users at Similar Rates

[lowendlinux]

If you haven't looked back since switching to Android then why are you here on an Apple Enthusiasts board?

I own nothing Apple (baring a really old Mac Book) yet I'm here. Tech is a sector not a company so if you like tech you keep up on all of it not just your favorite companies in tech.

 

[the-msa]

The only accessory I need (for my phone) is a Micro USB cable, compatible with EVERYTHING. Try that with lightning. Example: I found an older blackberry charger in my office I use to keep my S4 maxed out. Convenient.

this is the one thing that pisses me really off. half a year after buying my ipad, the crap lightning cable stopped working, and got a bend at the connector. seriously?

i'm using a 4 year old micro usb cable that i bought from the 1 dollar store with my nokia n900, nexus s and now my nexus 5. still works like a charm, right now its charging my phone. and compared to the lightning cable, i treated the usb cable like crap. folding/halving it several times to store and press it really firmly so it'll stay like that. pull at the cable instead of the connector to disconnect from phone etc. never did that with the lightning cable, yet thats the one that broke.

 

[OllyW]

Apple's spin indicates a LOT more Android switchers than this survey.

Apple could be telling the truth if they are talking about the global market as this survey only covers the USA.

 

[Krizoitz]

Apple could be telling the truth if they are talking about the global market as this survey only covers the USA.

Or the survey could be flawed, as several others indicate differently. As does Apples financials and company statements.

 

[driceman]

Speaking as a new T-Mobile sales associate, I can tell you that we don't really push people toward one OS or the other (it literally does not matter what phone you get; the commission for the device itself is exactly the same for us). That being said, employees tend to recommend what they personally like best just out of human nature, and any employee who's worked there for more than two years will be more comfortable with Android because we so recently got the iPhone.

But there are so many more factors to this than "which OS is better." Some customers want the latest and greatest stuff and they typically finance/lease their devices, in which case we sell iPhones and LG G4's the most (a lot of Android users, at least at our store, seem to be annoyed at Samsung for removing all the features from their phones that set Android apart from iOS, and the HTC One M9's camera blows). Some customers get an entry-level Android phone because they figure they'll use the internet on occasion but don't care all that much. Some customers want to buy their phone outright, and they don't want to drop $650+ to do it to get the latest iPhone, so they get a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime or an LG G3 (low-end Android).

The point is, we get some customers who choose their device based on the OS or which company they like better, but the price of the device is often a bigger factor. And while I love my iPhone, it's fair to say that Android has many more sections of the market covered. Apple has never shot for the biggest market share and hopefully never will, because the way they're successful and extremely profitable is their current business model of making only premium products. Android is more large market share, small profit margin, which is also a reasonable business model (y'know, like a restaurant) when they sell in volume. The problem is that to undercut Apple and chase the bottom section of the market, their profits are getting steadily thinner.

Because I work there, I'm considering trying T-Mobile's Jump! On Demand plan to swap out my iPhone for an Android so I can learn the devices and more effectively help customers (and I get a huge discount on my data plan ). Does that count in this "switching" study? Does that mean Apple is doomed? Of course not. People like to try different things. Again, I love my iPhone, but that doesn't mean I refuse to even try the competitors' devices. And anyway, how can I have an informed opinion about one company being better than another if I have no idea what the competitors' devices are like?

 

[aerok]

Sigh, not everybody that buys Apple has fanboy bias. You do realize many people have Macs and just want easy communication between their device and their computer. Lots of people have friends that have iPhones and they would rather trade iMessages and/or FaceTime. So if somebody chooses a Samsung premium smartphone does that mean they have Samsung fanboy bias? Spending more money on a product doesn't make somebody a fanboy. There are tons of cheap crap Android phones. Had Apple made cheap iOS phones they would be on the same level of sales as Android.

Yes you're absolutely right. I'm on one of those that buy iPhone only because I like my MacBook. Many users swear that I'm an fandroid troll here

 

[alexgowers]

What really happens when you send all your data to Google? Do they call you at home in the evening? Do they solicite you? Do they send you emails? Just what does Google do with your data that bothers you? Please let me know.

The NSA and google are snooping on you for real, there is a reason people get caught before committing terrorist acts etc etc.

Google aren't a telemarketer, they don't contact you themselves duh! They sell and use your data to pay for the software and give you cheaper handsets, they claim they don't but stories of the past tell us they do lots of things they say they don't until they get sued. Who is buying that data is what should scare and concern you though. The same way using Facebook is opening yourself up to not only nefarious individuals but also companies/government, using google is like telling them everything you do, where you are, a/s/l everything, phone usage, websites, searches, texts. This is not tin hat business this is reality of such heavy data collection, it's too valuable not to be bought.

Some/many are happy with the trade of personal private data for cheaper software and phones but personally i would want to limit that and apple is the better choice though no where is better than trying to reveal as little as possible, google is the last place i want to place my custom.

 

[samcraig]

They sell and use your data

I'm not sure you understand what Google actually does.

 

[kdarling]

Some/many are happy with the trade of personal private data for cheaper software and phones but personally i would want to limit that and apple is the better choice though no where is better than trying to reveal as little as possible, google is the last place i want to place my custom.

Google doesn't sell personal private data. They, just like Apple, our credit card companies, and our banks, carefully keep that information to themselves... because that's what makes the data so valuable.

Instead, what all of the above organizations do, is sell aggregate data and/or anonymous ad slots.

 

[RickInHouston]

The NSA and google are snooping on you for real, there is a reason people get caught before committing terrorist acts etc etc.

Google aren't a telemarketer, they don't contact you themselves duh! They sell and use your data to pay for the software and give you cheaper handsets, they claim they don't but stories of the past tell us they do lots of things they say they don't until they get sued. Who is buying that data is what should scare and concern you though. The same way using Facebook is opening yourself up to not only nefarious individuals but also companies/government, using google is like telling them everything you do, where you are, a/s/l everything, phone usage, websites, searches, texts. This is not tin hat business this is reality of such heavy data collection, it's too valuable not to be bought.

Some/many are happy with the trade of personal private data for cheaper software and phones but personally i would want to limit that and apple is the better choice though no where is better than trying to reveal as little as possible, google is the last place i want to place my custom.

You wrote three long paragraphs to say ??? something ??? I'm not clear on really what, though. All I got out of that is if you are a terrorist (which I am not) Google will get me caught. Wow, thanks.

Also, they know what I buy and stuff. Wow. I can see you walking down the street and see from your clothes what you've bought. Please. This reply was useless for my discussion.

 

[RickInHouston]

It's not that Google directly bothers us with spam, it's the idea of it. I don't feel comfortable with Google making money off of the data they get from me. Apple's philosophy is how I wish more companies were. Your private information is your private information!

You are not fine with Google making money off your data.

You are fine with apple using your data to improve their services for them and profit from it.

Are you okay with credit card companies making money off each purchase you make with your credit card?

Just trying to narrow it all down. You know, how we mind being used and don't mind being used.

Sorry, re read everying. It's the idea it's happening being your back.

But still - Your PRIVATE INFORMATION ISN'T BEING USED TO ABUSE YOU. Why does that bother you. Why does the IDEA of that bother you?

 

[MH01]

Indeed, when a feature is missing on one Android device, you can most likely find it on another. When you go off iPhone, you go off iPhone.

…I think I just came up with a parody of the new iPhone ads' tagline.

I prefer your tag line to "if it not an iPhone....

 

[MH01]

I would not read too much into stats, the next article will state the opposite

 

[jdawgnoonan]

In September of 2014 I switched to the iPhone 6 Plus from Android. Although there were some ways that iOS bests Android, I ended up getting annoyed with the lack of ability to control default applications on iOS and switched to an LG G4 in June of 2015. My LG isn't as pretty, but at least it lets me do what I want. And it has a better camera too.

 

[kdarling]

It's not that Google directly bothers us with spam, it's the idea of it. I don't feel comfortable with Google making money off of the data they get from me. Apple's philosophy is how I wish more companies were. Your private information is your private information!

We wish.

Ever hear of Apple iAds? Apple makes money from selling ad spots according to our location, iTunes purchase info and preferences and credit history, and everything else they know about us. Same as Google does, except perhaps even more detailed.

However, neither company sells identifiable private data.

Look, it's not the Apples and Googles of the world that we have to worry about. They have good reason to keep their data on us safe. Instead, we get fraud and sales calls because of the hundreds of smaller data collection firms that have no restrictions whatsoever about selling personally identifiable data.

Here's the difference:

Apple creates products for it's (sic) user's to use.
Google uses it's (sic) users as it's (sic) products.

Cute propaganda, but untrue. Apple markets its users as products and makes a ton of money doing so. Besides iAds...

Apple has sold its iOS users as a product to Google since the first iPhone. Apple makes at least a billion dollars a year in kickbacks from Google, for letting it be the default search engine.

Apple also now gets a fee from banks in large part for letting Apple Pay continue to pass our purchase details directly to them, so that they can profit from the data. Apple also requires the banks to return a lot of data on Apple Pay purchases. So while Apple can truly claim they don't see any data at the time of purchase, they see aggregate data sent back, which is one reason why a few privacy-oriented UK banks tried to hold out making a deal with Apple.

 

[melendezest]

1. Inability to upgrade (unless you root your phone)
2. Unpatched security vulnerabilities (see point 1)
3. Malware, Spyware, etc. in their official app store
4. Google's poor stance on privacy
5. Inconsistent (though somewhat improving) UI behavior (don't get me started on the damn back button)
   
6. Different UI skins and Apps based on carrier/manufacturer

Thats just off the top of my head, and yes implies that Android has PLENTY of problems. If those problems don't concern you or you feel the tradeoffs are worth dealing with them, thats fine. iOS has limitations of its own that may make using it not something you prefer, but lets not pretend that Android does not have some significant downsides, especially in light of some of the recent security issues.

I'm not pretending anything. I, me personally, have not had any problems with Android.

I hear about 1, 2, and 3 all the time, but in 2 years I've had zero issues with those. Really. Zero.

Again, item 4 has had ZERO real-world impact on me.

Item 5: I LOVE the back button on my S4. One of my favorite things, really. The fact that the UI is inconsistent between carriers is irrelevant, unless you're constantly switching phones. Even then, it's not that different. If I switch to to Apple, I'd be dealing with yet another inconsistent UI to what I'm used to.

Item 6 is actually superior on Android. I have more choice and the freedom to change it. With Apple, you're stuck with the one choice. No thanks.

So those "plenty" problems have had ZERO Real-World impact on my Android device use. It's been a good, enjoyable 2 years and I'm glad I didn't let the "reports" stop me from giving Android a chance.

It is unnecessary to imply that I'm a liar and a troll. I've enjoyed my Android experience so far, just as I enjoyed my iOS experience before that (prior to iOS 7…ugh). I've merely pointed out that this is the case and why. There's no need to try to dissuade people from using one platform or the other.

My point is they're both equally capable, with Android being more powerful/flexible and iOS being simpler and (reportedly) safer.

 

[melendezest]

Flexible, yes. More pragmatic? I don't think so. There's a reason why android is becoming more like iOS as a platform than the other way around, from Google many regards and not the other way around, from Google curating apps to

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/waiting-for-androids-inevitable-security-armageddon/


All CEOs pump up their business but there's no reason to doubt his switchers claim especially since other reports and Apple's financials back him up.

Hmm, maybe our definition of pragmatic differs. Fine. My point: I can do things with Android I can't with iOS. In the freedom vs security debate, I'll take freedom every time.

The thing about Google is that they add to their platform, even if the idea comes from Apple. Apple is in the habit of taking away from their platforms more than they add, with the latest MacBook being the epitome of it.

I HATE that. I'm sick of the whole "the customer doesn't know what he wants" crap. Yes, Apple, yes I do.

So when it comes to device control Google's approach is customer-centric, where Apple's approach is Apple-centric.

Google's approach makes obvious sense to me, thus being more pragmatic.

 

[melendezest]

I replaced the battery in my wife's iPhone 5 in 10 minutes. It lost charge after 2.25 years. You are also forgetting that more and more Androids are ditching the SD card, sealing the battery, and Google is severely restricting access to the File system.



I have, twice. And it still is riddled with problems.

You cannot reasonably try to compare swapping a battery on an iPhone to a Galaxy device that is designed specifically to allow this.

Now, I'm not happy about Sammy or Google sealing their phones up either, but whatcha gonna do? Oh yeah, find another device that doesn't. Hint: It's NOT an iPhone.

Still, for two years I've been happier with my S4 than any iPhone. The future is irrelevant in my argument.

Again, no one is wrong for loving their iPhone.

But I'm also not wrong because I don't love it and I choose Android instead (like most people).

 

[asiga]

iOS and Android Retain Loyal Users at Similar Rates

Android = Take Linux, scrap all its UNIX security features, and make it run a lagging Java-based UI.
iOS = Take OS X, scrap all its power-user top features, and design it for controlling the users lives.

No wonder they retain loyal users at similar rates: They're pretty different, but both were designed from scrapping the good stuff and putting inconvenient things instead.

 

[jlrcmba14]

All I ask is that you don't complain about a sample size of 4000 because if you do, you don't know what you're talking about. We can predict the winners of a presidential election with extremely high accuracy with far smaller samples. You might quibble with how questions were worded or some such, but the general method here is more than sound.