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As Smartphone Industry Sputters, the iPhone Expands Its Dominance (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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As Smartphone Industry Sputters, the iPhone Expands Its Dominance::Apple, which is set to release a new iPhone on Tuesday, has increased its share of smartphone sales by converting Android customers and adding teenagers.

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[-] Maven@lemmy.sdf.org 108 points 1 year ago

Unless an iphone becomes literally the only option, I don't see myself ever getting one. I'm deeply morally opposed to their walled-garden approach, and I won't even get one Samsung's Androids for the same reason. It would be nice for me if there was more people like me, but regardless, as long as there's a freer option, I'll be taking it.

[-] zzzzzz@lemmy.ml 70 points 1 year ago

It's too bad Android didn't lean more into it's relative freedom. Instead, almost all Android manufacturers have followed Apple's lead closely. I have to believe there'd be a sizeable market for a flagship Android phone with, say, a removable battery, headphone jack, SD card slot, and an easily unlocked bootloader.

[-] ArbiterXero@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago

They exist, they just aren’t popular because most people don’t care.

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[-] serratur@lemmy.wtf 30 points 1 year ago

Its like picking between different types of cancer, its either walled garden or a privacy nightmare.

[-] The_Mixer_Dude@lemmus.org 11 points 1 year ago

And Apple is out there dual wielding both issues while adding a human rights violation as well

[-] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

I’m not familiar with any human rights violations from Apple, unless you’re talking about in their supply chain, in which case many of the reports recently come from Apple themselves as they investigate their suppliers. It’s not like other manufacturers aren’t using factories in China or India, or cobalt mines in developing countries.

What are you referring to?

[-] The_Mixer_Dude@lemmus.org 6 points 1 year ago

Apple is literally lobbying congress to allow them to use slave labor. Congress was looking to pass a bill that would block the sale of products manufactured through the use of slave labor and Apple literally called a meeting with them to "talk about it and see how everyone feels about the situation". Scum

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[-] dojan@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

I don’t see myself ever going back to Android (beyond my work phone that is) because it’s so much hassle. An iPhone I can get second hand and keep for five or six years. Most Android manufacturers stop supporting their devices pretty much after release.

I don’t want to be forced to upgrade my phone all the time. It’s a tool, switching it out is a hassle. I don’t want to think about it all the time, it’s just meant to be there and work when I need it.

That’s something I never got from Android. I liked my OnePlus One, but I hated that I had to flash updates myself and use MAGISK to circumvent security stuff so I could use my day-to-day apps.

Honestly I think it’s a problem with the whole “smartphone” market altogether. You don’t really own your device, and the manufacturers would love it if you upgraded yearly. It’s why twice-a-year releases were so popular for a while.

All I hope for is for all the anti-consumer bullshit to get regulated out of existence.

[-] Brokkr@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

It sounds like you made some choices about how you engaged with android phones that you regretted. Maybe you weren't aware of the consequences of your choices, which I can see being a reason to favor apple (because they don't offer choices).

However, your experience could have been completely different. There are plenty of ways to use android's that don't involve nearly as much effort as you describe. Security updates can be nearly automatic, requiring only a restart. Root access isn't strictly necessary, but is choice you can make. And changing phones can be as easy as logging in to your Google account (nearly everything gets synced automatically).

[-] dojan@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

I don’t want to change my phones. I want the device I paid out of my nose for to work however long I want it to.

In Sweden we have this authentication service called BankID, which is central to daily life. I use it to authenticate online purchases, pick up parcels, pay my bills, order groceries, handle doctors appointments, contact my ISP. You name it, it does it.

Now I have my issues with BankID as a platform, but it’s what we have. Not using it is an option, but adds so much extra administrative overhead. Need to cancel your electricity because you moved? Sure, it’s a five minute phone call with BankID, or alternatively a two week process with forms and BS.

The nature of this software means you need to have a phone with a recent security patch. They stop allowing older operating systems to run it for obvious reasons.

Thus, when I switched out my OPO in 2020 it was in part due to the failing hardware, but primarily because of how flaky the setup was. I had to unlock the boot loader to flash a ROM, BankID wouldn’t run with an unlocked boot loader, so I had to root the blasted thing to run MAGISK to fool the piece of shit that all was good.

I could obviously have upgraded to a newer phone, but with Android at the time I’d be in a similar spot a couple of years down the road. Apple has many issues, but they at least offer support for their devices for years.

The iPhone 5S was released the same year as my OnePlus One, and got a security patch back in January 2023. The OnePlus One got its last in 2016.

Samsung has dropped support for their $1980 Galaxy Fold 1, and it was only released in 2019. The iPhone XS I got second hand for $400 in 2020 was released in 2018 and got a mainline OS update the other day.

Android might work great for you, but until some major things change I’ll stick to iPhone as my personal device and keep Android as my work phone.

[-] ruckblack@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago

What? Your complaints would be solved by simply... not rooting your phone lmao.

[-] dojan@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

My options were either rooting the device or throwing it out and buying a new one as a very important app didn’t support older OS versions anymore.

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[-] GentlemanLoser@ttrpg.network 5 points 1 year ago

What apps required that much circumventing? I've owned solely Androids and I've never run into "my phone's software is so outdated I can't run XYZ apps on it"

Do you do something really special on your phone that requires the latest version, in which case your experience is not going to be relevant to most users... Or are you just wayyyyy overstating the actual impact it had on your life?

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[-] hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world 59 points 1 year ago

Outside the US, no one cares. Most people use WhatsApp and they don't care what hardware it runs on.

[-] chemicalprophet@lemm.ee 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What's WhatsApp?

Edit: nm i googled it. It's a way to sacrifice your privacy and security while supporting an evil company. I'm cool...

[-] deadcade@lemmy.deadca.de 56 points 1 year ago

As if iMessage, the platform that requires hardware from a specific company, is much better.

[-] solarvector@lemmy.zip 17 points 1 year ago

There are more than two options for messaging now.

Both primary phone platforms are kinda shit though.

[-] chemicalprophet@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago

I'm a Signal man myself but iMessage's faults don't make WhatsApp any better and that's a blatant whataboutism, fuck!

[-] idefix@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 year ago

I can't believe you seriously asked what WhatsApp is... where do you come from?

[-] Gsus4@feddit.nl 4 points 1 year ago

Dude could be Chinese..

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[-] Dasnap@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

Funnily enough, WhatsApp being E2E encrypted means it's one of the more private and secure chat apps out there.

[-] admin@lemmy.my-box.dev 13 points 1 year ago

It still records who you talk to, as well as how much and when. That info is held by the biggest peddler in privacy info out there. No way I trust Facebook/meta as much as any of the other e2e chat clients.

[-] Dasnap@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Oh yeah, other options are better. Implying that it's completely unsecure is just misleading.

[-] admin@lemmy.my-box.dev 4 points 1 year ago

Gotcha, good point.

[-] wax@lemmy.wtf 8 points 1 year ago

E2E encrypted between facebook app #1 and facebook app #2, sure

[-] nevemsenki@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

It doesn't help Google is locking down android more and more with each release,inching closer and closer to Apple's shitty philosophy without the same guaranteed support.

[-] smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 year ago

Between iPhone and Android, I choose PostmarketOS.

[-] skymtf 8 points 1 year ago

I kinda wonder if there will be any US device makers left? I guess mg biggest fear is let's say iPhone uses up 90% marketshare in the US than releases a new standard for cell carriers and they drop support for anything but iOS.

[-] dtrain@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Monopolistic companies: “This is the way”

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[-] TenderfootGungi@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I am a big Apple guy, but this is not healthy. I wish Google would step up their game.

[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 7 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Wireless providers, much like auto dealers, offer discounts and monthly payment plans that make it more affordable to buy the latest model.

The stigma associated with having green text messages is so pronounced that when it came time for Dave Storrs’s 14-year-old son to get his first smartphone, the teenager told his father that he wanted an iPhone or no phone at all.

For more than a decade, he took pride in being what he called an “Android renegade.” He owned a series of LG and Motorola phones, even as his son and other family members pressed him to buy an iPhone.

The migration from Android to Apple has accelerated as promotional discounts, financing plans and trade-in offers make higher iPhone prices less of a barrier.

In 2017, Apple began working with government officials to start manufacturing iPhones locally, a move that has improved affordability by avoiding import tariffs.

The new flagship iPhones that Apple is set to unveil this week will feature speedier processors, more sophisticated cameras and titanium rather than stainless steel cases, according to supply chain analysts.

The original article contains 1,266 words, the summary contains 180 words. Saved 86%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] TheCuriousCoder87@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

IPhone or no phone at all? Ok, you have your wish. No phone.

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this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023

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