genuinely curious as to why people choose that brand, are alternatives really that bad?
As I see it:
- you pay for the hardware and software, which is fine, but
- if you want to upgrade the OS, you have to pay once again, but this doesn’t work if your hardware model stops being supported. Why pay for something with a limited life expectancy?
- you cannot get rid of bloatware, only hide it
- software is made specifically to be only compatible within their ecosystem. If you want to build up on existing software and hardware, you either stay in their system and keep paying them or start anew with a freer alternative.
- I find it ridiculous they use fancy names to name even their support staff instead of just calling it support staff. Why make things complicated?
- I don’t understand why they use pentalobe screws instead or regular ones (with a line or a cross section)
Feel free to correct me, I may be misguided.
I was a die hard Android fan boy switching my phones every 9-12 months, rooting them, flashing custom ROMs and customising them in general. I was basically the most anti Apple guy you can imagine and mocked everyone who bought Apple devices.
4 years ago I got my hands on an iPhone XS Max for a few quid. Thought might as well try the device out which I’m making fun of just for the sake of it.
4 years later I’m sitting on my iPhone 14 Pro Max, my 2020 iPad Pro 12.9, AirPods Pro 2, Apple Watch 6 and 2 Apple TV boxes.
Apple really knows how to hook their users. The ecosystem is by far the best and won’t ever be reached by Android due to the simple fact that every device is made by one manufacturer.
For example: you setup the Apple TV box and it detects a nearby iPhone and offers quick setup. Setting up the second Apple TV box it even asks if it should mirror everything from the first Apple TV. I put my AirPods in my ears and Apple TV detects them and asks if it should connect to them even though they were never connected.
Another example: I’m watching a movie on my iPad with my AirPods in ears. I get a voice memo on WhatsApp on my phone. I play the memo and the AirPods switch instantly to the iPhone and after playing the memo back to the iPad.
These are only two examples about how well the ecosystem works. Yes, it’s kinda a loophole, once you’re in it, you can barely escape it. But I appreciate that shit just works. You have to experience it to really understand. Also I don’t feel the urge to switch the phone so often anymore, not only because there are not many models to choose from but the UX is so nice and smooth feeling, even on older devices. Not to mention the clean UI that isn’t cluttered and packed with ads like on some Android phone OSs or the Fire TV OS (I believe Xiaomi does this?).
To clarify a few of your points: No you don’t need to pay for OS upgrades. Support for older devices is good. The latest iOS 17 is available on the iPhone XR from 2018. Not to mention that you don’t need the latest OS version to have a fully functional device. Apple devices don’t really have bloatware on them. Only some Apple made apps like Books, Health etc. which can be fully uninstalled. Ecosystem is pretty closed yes. While you can use, let’s say, third party smart watches or Bluetooth headphones, the experience will not be as smooth as it’d be with AirPods. Apple finding fancy names for normal stuff is just their marketing strategy of making you or their products feel special. Not a fan of it either but don’t really care tbh. Also never really cared about the screws they use on the devices since I never had the urge to open them.
This right here. Clean device UIs, excellent hardware, and an ecosystem that is unmatched. Everything works together nicely. There is nothing like it in the Android/Windows world.
I was an Apple fanboy for years with the whole iphone, ipad, airpods setup too. Integration is pretty nice but I started getting into privacy.
Now I use grapheneos on my pixel, arch on my thinkpad, and selfhost my stuff. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Yes, it’s not as seemless as apple but I have alternatives for everything and they still sync nicely. It’s not a setup for everybody but it’s a good one if you want to own your data.
There’s a market for the smallest niche. The most important thing is that you are happy with the setup you’re running. It doesn’t matter if it is Android, iOS, Mac OS, Windows, Linux… if it works for you it’s good. Sadly people still fight about what’s better - especially when it comes to phones. And I was part of that fight. But from todays standpoint it just doesn’t make any sense. Use what suits you.
I mean I’m still a part of the fight as well because I advocate for privacy in our world of diminishing rights. Using a bloated android os isn’t really privacy respecting and even though apple is better than your most bloated samsung, it still isn’t as good as a degoogled phone. I still have an inherent bias for Androids because of so much more freedom.
However, I agree with you. We’re a small niche, most people just want shit to work and at that point this doesn’t even matter.
Your air pods switching things works with Samsung devices. Not only that it will work with Windows. I can be watching something on my laptop and get a call and it’ll switch over automatically.