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Forget the divide between Democrats and Republicans, or between New York Mets and New York Yankees fans. I’m here to tell you about the real issue that separates us Americans.
Namely, whether you’re an iPhone user or an Android phone user.
I’ve been thinking about this issue in light of the fact that Apple
AAPL,
rolled out its latest iPhone models last month, while Google
GOOGL,
which developed the Android technology, is unveiling its next-generation Android-based Pixel phones on Wednesday. Of course, Android fans know you don’t have to buy a Pixel phone if you want to go the Android route — that’s one of the technology’s key selling points, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Actually, I’m not really that interested in talking about the differences between the two styles of phones. I’m hardly a techie type — I had enough of a mental breakdown when I was forced to switch from a company-issued BlackBerry smartphone to a company-issued iPhone about a decade ago — so I’ll let much smarter folks weigh in on the pros and cons of each phone.
But I will say this from my Luddite-level vantage point: The war between the phone fanatics just seems like all kinds of silly. It’s a point that hit home for me when I was with a friend about a year ago, and we were driving around looking for this cool place to enjoy an afternoon drink.
He got a little lost and pulled out his Android phone for directions. Simultaneously, I pulled out my iPhone for the same reason (yes, I’m still sticking with the iPhone until they revive the BlackBerry). Suddenly, he unleashed a barrage of comments, as if I had announced to the world that I thought Mister Rogers was the devil incarnate. I can’t recall the exact words he used, but I’m pretty sure they included “clueless,” “idiot” and “iSheep,” plus an occasional expletive thrown in for good measure.
I had figured the conversation was perhaps an isolated outburst, but I’ve encountered other awkward situations like that with Android loyalists since then. And frankly, it’s not much different than the conversations that I, an Apple Macbook user, have had with PC users over the years. I have a friend who switched from Apple to PC models more than three decades ago and still talks about how much he now considers PC technology superior in every way. If you get this guy started, you better get comfortable — let’s just say you’re in for a very long ride.
When I did a little digging, I found the technological divide proves to be a sore spot in many relationships. Take Karen Hoskins, a Colorado resident who’s an iPhone user but is married to an Android fan. She told me that she and her husband agree on most things, but when the phone issue arises, it leads to “the most hilarious arguments.” One example: She doesn’t want her husband taking pictures with his Android because she’s certain the iPhone does the job better.
Her husband naturally feels otherwise on matters Android. “He’s such a Google psycho,” she said, somewhat in jest. (But only somewhat.)
And the battles can sometimes be just as bad — or even worse — when it comes to teens and twentysomethings, who tend to favor the iPhone, according to a recent Wall Street Journal story. The piece quoted 20-year-old iPhone user Abdoul Chamberlain, who declared in a video posted online: “You’re telling me in 2023, you still have a ’Droid? You gotta be at least 50 years old.”
Still, I know there are some real advantages to Android phones. For starters, the Android technology is open-sourced, so it’s available to a variety of phone manufacturers (not just Google, that is). In turn, that means there are lots of options to suit every budget and every taste.
And that helps explain why Android technology is the global leader when it comes to mobile operating systems — by a margin of about 72% to the iPhone’s IOS system’s 27%, as of December 2022 — even though the iPhone dominates in the U.S. Since Android phones can be cheaper, that means they have plenty of appeal in countries where there’s less disposable income.
By contrast, if you want the iPhone technology, you gotta buy an iPhone. So much for the free market. It’s a point that was hammered home when Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about making it easier for Android and iPhone users to message each other, a clear issue that many of us have run across. His response: He’d rather just convert the Android crowd to iPhones. (I reached out to Google and Apple for comment about their respective technologies and platforms, but didn’t receive an immediate response.)
“‘It’s almost a class issue.’”
Obviously, there’s a lot more to unpack about the differences between iPhones and Android phones. Again, I’ll leave it to the real pros to discuss, though I will say I find my iPhone very intuitive to use, and rarely subject to any glitches. And that’s what I care about, for the most part.
My real point is that we already have enough to fight about in this world. So, why do I have to feel that every time I discuss my iPhone with an Android user, I risk getting into what feels like a heated political argument?
Ironically, there’s some evidence that the divide between Android and iPhone can fall along party lines, with Android users leaning right and iPhone ones leaning left. Others say it speaks to different societal and cultural chasms.
“It’s almost a class issue,” Joe Karasin, a North Carolina resident and dyed-in-the-wool Android fan, told me. Karasin is another one who lives in a household split in terms of phone loyalties — his wife swears by her iPhone.
Then again, he says there are other things that divide the couple. “She loves ranch dressing. I think blue cheese is superior,” he said.
If it makes Karasin feel any better, I have to say I’m a blue cheese fan, too. But I’m not going to go to war over it. Nor do I want to fight with the Android users in my world.
Just don’t talk to me about the New York Yankees. Their fans are clueless idiots.
