Sample size of this thread is too small. Based on the fact that almost all the profits in the phone market go to Apple, obviously they are providing something people want that others can't. In other words, Apple consistently provides a user experience that more people prefer compared to Androids.
Profits go to Apple but I think unit sales sway heavily towards Android, don't they? Apple has much higher margins, so maybe you could say that people who prefer Apple prefer it more heavily than those who slightly prefer Android.
My preference is Apple currently but I think Android is probably better value for the money in most cases.
Yeah, Apple is either number one or two in terms of phones sold compared to other manufacturers.
But Android has a commanding lead of Smartphone OS installation. Because you not only have the Samsung Galaxy phones of the world, but also the BLU Studio X8.
A few hundred extra dollars for something you use many hours per day for multiple critical tasks is hard for me to nitpick about, so I think whatever people like to use (evidenced by what they are buying) shows what provides them the most value.
Unit sales don't say anything in my opinion, other than people who can't afford seem to be going with Android. If you want to make a statement about which user experience is preferable for most people, then the high end phones, which are the phones being chosen out of preference, is the data you want.
Not really. The luxury market is less about fulfilling basic needs and more about telling a good story and differentiating the owners of luxury from normal people
The iPhone is not that expensive so as to confer luxury status, at least not for the upper quintiles. If it was, then you wouldn't see it used so normally, that would defeat the goal of exclusivity.
The difference is people with disposable income are choosing to go with Apple, hence they have a better user experience comparable to other high end phones on the market, with the main differentiating factor being one is iOS and one is Android.
I think you're being terribly US-centric here - iphone use there is far higher than the rest of the world
I also think the locked-in thing is strong - people use iphones/android because they've always used iphones/android not many people have done the switch and comparison to actually have the experience this person has had
