Android isn’t cool with teenagers, and that’s a big problem::Nearly 9 in 10 US teenagers use an iPhone, spelling disaster for Google’s mobile future

  • filister@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    You guys are hating on Android, but the reality is that I will pick Android any day.

    At least with Android I have the freedom to install custom OS versions, change the default browser, sideload apps and to be honest I find Apple’s anti-consumer practices appalling, not to mention their very questionable legacy, etc.

    On my Android I have changed the default browser to Firefox nightly and loaded the libredirect and I am enjoying a lot of sideloaded apps, including Newpipe and it is running beautifully. I personally find Android a lot more powerful and customizable.

    • XIIIesq@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You’re absolutely right, but none of the things you’ve mentioned have any importance to a teenager. The only thing that matter to them is fitting in and if all their friends have iPhones then custom OSs and sideloaded apps really aren’t going to matter at all.

      • Jakeroxs@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        As a teenager I did, but I’m definitely in the minority as a tech enthusiast. I also installed and used Linux at 13…

    • paraphrand@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You’re a computer enthusiast. Android phones are computers.

      Not everyone needs to be a computer enthusiast. It’s ok that you are though. No shade.

  • eleitl@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Teenagers. US teenagers, specifically. So definitely no big problem.

    Personally for me the problem starts when there is no mobile hardware which supports free/libre OS. It is already visible in the supported hardware list of LineageOS. Large tablets, particularly.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    “Nearly 9 in 10 US teenagers use an iPhone”

    No.

    “Nearly 9 in 10 US teenagers SAY THEY use an iPhone”

    FTFY.

    How many actually use an iPhone remains to be seen.

  • Nacktmull@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    US teenagers have never been known for being particularly smart …

  • grabyourmotherskeys@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This stat seems wrong. It suggests 90% of teenagers have parents who bought an iPhone and handed it down or bought a new one for a kid (or the kid worked for a long time and saved up, etc). So many people have basic phones because of their budget that this seems way off.

    Maybe I’ll read the article now.

    Edit - Read it but still skeptical. Study summary here - https://www.pipersandler.com/teens

  • Hillmarsh@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I actually think that Android has gone downhill in a big way, but I still won’t go to Apple’s closed ecosystem, and I don’t care what teenagers think.

  • Jumuta@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Can people just stop fucking arguing about android vs iphone, amd vs intel, apple vs samsung etc. I’m so sick of this idiotic mess.

    “this soulless corporation is better than this soulless corporation because their marketing material uses this shade of grey with white text”

    I am going to have a mental breakdown if I read any more of these braindead conversations

    It should be GNULinux vs Windows/Mac, Graphene/LineageOS vs Android/iPhone, etc.

    People arguing corpo1 vs corpo2 have all been brainwashed by the corpos to ignore freedom respecting alternatives, and rather argue a meaningless argument because those 2 corpos are probably owned by the same shareholders anyway.

    • kaitco@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yet android has the bigger marketshare.

      Globally. In the US, however, which is the focus of this article, it’s about 55/45 to Apple.

      • rob299@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        meaining it’s about a 50-50 split in the us. i’m still not really concerned. when you have only two smartphones, ad no one wants to make a 3rd commercial smart phone that is not based on andriod, resualts like this are bound to happen.

  • Jackthelad@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Well yeah, of course teenagers will just want the most expensive thing, regardless of whether it’s actually any better.

    Teenagers are largely stupid. We all were.

    • itscozydownhere@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      ? Google Pixel phones cost as much as an iPhone. Same for Samsungs and other high end phones. Cheaper iPhones are available refurbished, and are still better than same costing Androids even if older.

      • simple@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Google Pixel phones cost as much as an iPhone. Same for Samsungs and other high end phones.

        ??? Maybe top-end android phones do, but the vast majority doesn’t. Mid-tier phones like the Samsung A54 cost $450, and chinese brands can get you a decent phone for as low as $200.

        The OnePlus Nord N30 for example has almost everything an average person would need in a phone and it goes for $230 currently. 120Hz screen, 8gb ram, 128gb storage, 5000 mAh battery and a pretty decent 108MP camera. If that isn’t cheap, I don’t know what is.

        Most of the people I know have moved on from high end to mid-tier phones. The spec difference doesn’t warrant paying twice as much anymore imo.

        • itscozydownhere@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Mm, true. But it’s still not the same. But of course for a lot of people it’s a solution. Personally I’d still prefer an older refurbished iPhone than using Android. Actually, I did buy older iPhones in the past. I’m not a teenager, someone just likes Apple philosophy in design software and hardware

  • CarlosCheddar@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I wonder how this correlates to low use of WhatsApp in the US. In South America and Europe WhatsApp is used heavily and looks the same no matter the platform but none of my US friends have WhatsApp so they rely on iMessage instead. None of them want to be seen sending green bubbles in the chat. I’ve even seen this as a side plot in a teen tv show that my wife was watching.

  • rob299@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Teenagers might think they want an iPhone, but not everyone has the money for one and paying the bills. Whether they could make life changes to make more money is debatable, but the fact remains that not everyone does have $1000 to throw at a phone.

    Because of this, the cheaper yet surprisingly still usable alternative, android has the larger marketshare. Since Google makes money on ads it’s better for them to hand out more phones for cheap or in same cases for free, when a manufacturer makes a phone, when all those users see ads on YouTube and Google.

      • Skies5394@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Definitely. Android has tiers, from flagship down.

        You can get an Android that surpasses any iPhone in specs and price no problem.

  • Decentralizr@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I think it starts with the ads… privacy etc. people believe that shit a s apple is good on it. That said iMessage is another things used a lot around central and North America and also in Asia. I think Europe not so much. That is why iPhone is popular. Just a thought. Not sure I am right. I use an iPhone and a pixel with GrapheneOS. Enjoy both and need both one for business and one for day to day private life

    • rob299@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      the thing is apple devices aren’t terrible, just over priced, they are better when it comes to less ads, or are they…? on most Android phones the ads come from the apps the user use, which are likely to be the same on an iphone anyways. YouTube anyone?

      . and knowing how much free money apple gets from the search engine deal on the daily and yet they still charge $1000 for phones that right there, ends my trust for that company, forget about their privacy claims after that nonsense.

      • Decentralizr@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I honestly don’t know about much ads. I use a pretty good dns setup what already blocks most. On top AdGuard pro take cares most of the ads I would see. I use also vinegar for YouTube so I don’t see ads there haha.

        On android you have with rethinkdns a pretty great firewall with a name what sounds more like a dns service. Anyway, I use apple for business, just because it works with my associates and have GrapheneOS as my daily drive.

  • rob299@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Look at it like this, how many wanted the Playstation 3 when it was cool, then factor in how many people bought that at launch vs the ps2 at launch. Actual market share matter more then opinions on what’s cool.

  • gr522x@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    It’s surprising that teenagers are uncomfortable using a surveillance device created by the largest advertising company in the world. Our friends at Alphabet Inc simply want to monitor everything you search for and all your communication because they care and want to keep you safe.

      • gr522x@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        They are definitely both pretty terrible, pick your poison I guess. Apple will gouge your eyes out with overpriced hardware and Alphabet (Google) will spy and you and sell your data. I don’t like either, but faced with the choice I’d rather pay more for my phone and avoid Google’s surveillance capitalism empire as much as possible. If you don’t mind advertisements and privacy isn’t important Google is probably a better choice.