With Android on the rise, do you think that Apple's iOS is dying?

[HumanMachine]

I honestly, truly do not get that Android is hard. Seriously.I thought it was fairly easy to figure out. Never opened the manual once. I found it intuitive.

Not being argumentative; I really, really don't get that iOS is any easier to use than Android, especially with basic operations.

You'd be surprised man... you'd be surprised.

 

[Baldilocks]

Android 2.2 browsing >>> iOS browsing > Android 2.1 browsing

Website rendering on my Captivate and other Android devices I have previewed, are simply much cruder than those in Safari. It's like Android has never heard of any type of cleartype or font smoothing.
If I need to do web intensive tasks, I'll always take the iPhone just to save my eyes.

 

[ari-free]

You'd be surprised man... you'd be surprised.

try to be more specific than that. Don't just repeat "it's easy, it's easy"

 

[Niir]

If you consider smartphones as another OS in a field which contains OSX, Windows, Linux, WebOS, Android, WinMo, iOS etc each takes a little time to ''get used to''.

Going from my experience moving my netbook from windows to linux it took a day or two to get familiar with how the OS works.

I find iOS awkward because ive used android so heavily so i do things instinctivly which do nothing/the wrong stuff in iOS, so to me iOS is harder to use.

Its familiarity pure and simple, if you have only used iphones your brain thinks in terms of that system, and the same with android.

 

[SporkLover]

No. The iPhone is now Apple's flagship product, they make more money from the iPhone than selling Macs, iPods, or software. I doubt they will let it flounder.

Besides there are many aspects that the Iphone has provided an elegant solution for, that Android hasn't answered. Mainly:

1. Ease of use, say what you will about openness and the power to control your phones destiny, there is alot to be said about ease of use. Especially when a Cell Phone manufacturer is trying to convert folks from "dumb" or "texting Phones". This is not in just the UI, but it's in just about every app that's out there.

2. Media player solution. Apple has this one hands down. And it's integrated into the OS. There are good software solutions out there for android phones, but it's much more elegant and well put together on iPhone.

Besides that, I don't want to see iOS go away. If there is just one solution out there, things tend to get stagnant as companies like to rest on their laurels. Windows Mobile is a prime example. BB OS is the next example.

 

[ImSpartacus]

In my opinion, the iPhone's momentum is maintained by iTunes.

The iPod locked thousands of customers into iTunes. It's like the Windows XP upgrade scenario. People are comfortable with iTunes, they don't care to try anything different.

 

[vincentp]

It's not going away anytime soon, though I wish it would. I just wish that company would die all together. They have never shown any pro-consumer tendencies.

 

[A.Nonymous]

In my opinion, the iPhone's momentum is maintained by iTunes.

The iPod locked thousands of customers into iTunes. It's like the Windows XP upgrade scenario. People are comfortable with iTunes, they don't care to try anything different.

I don't think it's that people don't care to try anything different, it's more like there isn't anything different to try really. I've looked at doubletwist and it just doesn't have the same smooth user interface that iTunes does, nor does it have all the content. There aren't any other alternatives that are as good. It doesn't help that Apple has done it's best to keep the iPod/iPhone from syncing with anything else.

The mobile market right now is the way the desktop market was 20 years ago. Microsoft people got their way and Windows became the standard on desktops. It's hard to argue that the customer ended up the better for it, but there really are no good desktop alternatives out there and MS has such a huge market share that no one's really willing to pour the money into making one. The mobile platform isn't that way. Three-four years ago people laughed at the idea of Apple making a phone. Now it's got a good chunk of the market. Windows mobile is now a niche OS. A couple of years ago, Android wasn't around. Now it's a growing segment of the market.

To expect Android to take over 95% of the market like Microsoft did on the desktop is a pipe dream. I know people on here hate Apple products for whatever reason, but you can't deny that it is a very slick looking product and it's extremely stable. Granted they get that way by having such a closed system, but the average consumer doesn't care about an open system so much.

 

[IOWA]

Apple's iOS could be classified as soaring (like like the way their smartphone sales are soaring) but to suggest it's dying? Not a chance.

As it stands now, Apple is ~steamrolling~ the smartphone market in terms of sheer number of units being sold and the current 3+ week long waitlist for those who pre-order the Iphone 4. Their incredible numbers are a testament to the Iphone and iOS's excellent quality and overall consumer satisfaction. Most people would not buy an Iphone if it was garbage, buggy, or faulty, because they want to get their money's worth. I am one of these people, I am not an Apple fanboy or anything of the sort, as the only two Apple product's I've ever owned are the Iphone 3G and Iphone 4. But I chose the Iphone because they are of excellent quality and good phones all around.

It's disingenuous however to chide the Iphone 4 in its entirety due to some complaints about "antennagate", because if that's the route that some people want to go, then it's likewise also possible to browse these very forums and find countless upon countless of user complaints (hardware and software related) with all the different kinds of droid phones. I personally don't have any problems with my Iphone 4, and neither do any of my friends / co workers who I have asked. Regardless, all phones have problems, none are perfect. But the enormous hype surrounding the Iphone 4 has deluded some people into thinking that it SHOULD be perfect, which of course is unrealistic and silly.

But perhaps the most pathetic aspects pertaining to this whole "iphone vs android" make-believe-war are the petty generalizations and mischaracterizations of their users. For the record: Iphone users are not moronic computer-illiterate dolts that simply want a "Shiny" phone to "waste their money on".

A phone is a phone is a phone. It comes down to personal preference, that's it.

Uh, no? Android has been outselling iPhone since the beginning of this year.

 

[Storm613]

Let me rephrase my actual question. I don't think there is any way that Android will completely remove Apple from the market, but do you think that Android will eventually take the throne from iOS as top smartphone?

 

[Intervenient]

Let me rephrase my actual question. I don't think there is any way that Android will completely remove Apple from the market, but do you think that Android will eventually take the throne from iOS as top smartphone?

Apple isn't even at the top right now. But if you mean Android sales will take over iPhone sales, than of course. Its many devices against one.

 

[ari-free]

No. The iPhone is now Apple's flagship product, they make more money from the iPhone than selling Macs, iPods, or software. I doubt they will let it flounder.

Doesn't matter. Look at Netscape. look at AOL. Look at Palm. Look at Wordperfect. At one time everyone used them. Today hardly anyone does.
Apple has to have a clear technological edge but they don't. Apple is all about polish but in the end the smartphone will be priced as a commodity and they won't be able to handle that.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Apple isn't even at the top right now. But if you mean Android sales will take over iPhone sales, than of course. Its many devices against one.

Agreed. If you want iOS it's only on one device. There are close to a dozen if not more running Android. So you're definitely going to sell more Android devices if that's not already happening. That doesn't say anything about market share. As I said earlier I don't see that we'll ever have a situation in the mobile market like we do with desktops where one OS has a gigantic stranglehold on the entire market. I don't even understand why people would want iOS to go away completely. Makes no sense to me. If you don't like iOS then just don't get it and go happily on your way.

 

[Dheano]

Here's the thing. The reason Android will overtake iOS (not kill, I must point out) is because Android isn't owned by anyone. Any phone manufacturer can get the Android system and run it. iOS can only be used by Apple, as that's what it was built for.

Android is the first system to be used on numerous platforms. On old mobile phones, not Smartphones, Nokia's ran a Nokia system, Sony Ericsson's ran a Sony Ericsson system and so on.

Android will of course, due to the availibility of the system, overtake the iOS but primarily only because it is availible on so many handsets.

I personally don't like the iOS and I love Android but everyone's entitled to their opinion and anyone can pick any phone they want.

And as Swizz said earlier, Android won't kill iOS and if it did, it would be bad for Android as there would be no real competition.

 

[grainysand]

Android is the first system to be used on numerous platforms. On old mobile phones, not Smartphones, Nokia's ran a Nokia system, Sony Ericsson's ran a Sony Ericsson system and so on.

Actually, both SE and Nokia have been using Symbian on both their dumb- and smartphones. It's an abjectly terrible OS by today's standards, but there it is.

 

[Alieno]

Uh, no? Android has been outselling iPhone since the beginning of this year.

I don't understand what you're saying "no" about, did you even read my post? It's a fact that the Iphone 4 is selling at an unprecedented level, it's a fact that in 2 months time it will still be exceedingly difficult to find an Apple retailer that even has an Iphone 4 in stock--whereas Verizon and others will be offering "buy 1 get 1 free deals".

People would not be buying the Iphone if it was a piece of garbage or faulty, it's a great phone all around, and a lot of people simply prefer it over anything else (especially if they had an earlier model iphone). If you want to cling to the false notion that people are buying the Iphone 4 because they are fanbois or want to be "cool", it's just as easy to suggest that people buy Droid because they are "fanbois" or want to be "cool".

Just like it shouldn't come as a surprise that a very satisfied current Honda owner decides to go with Honda when its time to buy a new vehicle. It would sound awfully moronic to call that person a "honda fanboi" or say that "they're going with the honda because they want to be cool" and then regurgitate some nonsense about how Mazda or Toyota are better vehicles. They're all good car brands, and they're all good cell phones.

Some people prefer one name brand over another. That was the gist of my post.

 

[grainysand]

It's still true, however, that an overwhelming majority of Apple users are computer-illiterate.

 

[IOWA]

I don't understand what you're saying "no" about, did you even read my post? It's a fact that the Iphone 4 is selling at an unprecedented level, it's a fact that in 2 months time it will still be exceedingly difficult to find an Apple retailer that even has an Iphone 4 in stock--whereas Verizon and others will be offering "buy 1 get 1 free deals".

People would not be buying the Iphone if it was a piece of garbage or faulty, it's a great phone all around, and a lot of people simply prefer it over anything else (especially if they had an earlier model iphone). If you want to cling to the false notion that people are buying the Iphone 4 because they are fanbois or want to be "cool", it's just as easy to suggest that people buy Droid because they are "fanbois" or want to be "cool".

Just like it shouldn't come as a surprise that a very satisfied current Honda owner decides to go with Honda when its time to buy a new vehicle. It would sound awfully moronic to call that person a "honda fanboi" or say that "they're going with the honda because they want to be cool" and then regurgitate some nonsense about how Mazda or Toyota are better vehicles. They're all good car brands, and they're all good cell phones.

Some people prefer one name brand over another. That was the gist of my post.

Doesn't a good "cell phone" require you to be able reliably make phone call though? And believe me, I HAVE seen Honda/Ford/Chevy/etc fanbois, they exist, and are often a lot more hardcore than Apple fanboi's.

 

[dansamy]

It's still true, however, that an overwhelming majority of Apple users are computer-illiterate.

There are a ton of girls at work toting iPhones who have no clue what their smart phones are capable of doing. Even rudimentary basics like looking up drugs or labs in something like ePocrates or Skyscape is elusive to them. They play Paper Toss and watch YouTube. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but their iPhones are (or can be) so much more useful than just games and videos!) I'd bet dollars to doughnut holes that they have PCs at home to play solitaire.

 

[sdguy67]

I am as big of a Android fan boy as there is, but iOS isn't going anywhere. There are a ton of users that want to pick up a phone, and it just work, and Apple is great at making products that do that. Their computers, their phones, and their MP3 players are the most user friendly devices on the market. They are not customizable and are limited on what the user can or can't do with them, but there are millions of users that don't care about customizing their phone.

The only think that is hurting the iPhone is the exclusivity to AT&T. Once they release a Verizon phone, the sales will increase exponentially.

 

[grainysand]

There are a ton of girls at work toting iPhones who have no clue what their smart phones are capable of doing. Even rudimentary basics like looking up drugs or labs in something like ePocrates or Skyscape is elusive to them. They play Paper Toss and watch YouTube. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but their iPhones are (or can be) so much more useful than just games and videos!) I'd bet dollars to doughnut holes that they have PCs at home to play solitaire.

I would also not be surprised if they, caught up in the Apple hype, buy Macbooks and use those to play Farmville and nothing else.

 

[mttfrog13]

The Ferrari comparison is a crappy one if you're talking about performance, just focus on the sales numbers bit of it.

If i were to compare the phones to cars I would say that if iOS is a bugatti veyron, then the android platform is a mclaren f1. Not necessarily performance wise, but just in the overall aspects and theory on which they were designed.

 

[A.Nonymous]

It's still true, however, that an overwhelming majority of Apple users are computer-illiterate.

I don't know what your source is for that, but anecdotally, that seems to be my experience as well. I know a lot of computer illiterate people who can pick up an iPhone and immediately know how to use it. If they grab an Android device it can be intimidating. If you are computer savvy, you can do much more customization on an Android phone.

 

[Alieno]

Doesn't a good "cell phone" require you to be able reliably make phone call though?

My Iphone 4 doesn't have that problem, and this game that you are trying to play can be applied to Droid phones as well:

Doesn't a good "cell phone" require you to not be worried about a screen that "separates" from the phone though?

You can simply dismiss my 'screen separating' example if your Droid doesn't have that problem, just like I dismissed your 'make phone calls' argument because my Iphone 4 (and my co workers & friends Iphone 4's) do not have that problem. My point is to prove that we can go back and forth with these kinds of circular arguments.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference.

And believe me, I HAVE seen Honda/Ford/Chevy/etc fanbois, they exist, and are often a lot more hardcore than Apple fanboi's.

I'm sure they exist, but my point is to illustrate how stupid these made-up-conflicts really are. Who cares if someone prefers Apple over Droid or Honda over Toyota? What does it matter in the end?

I prefer Miracle Whip over Hellmann's Mayonnaise, does that make me a nutritionally illiterate Miracle Whip fanboy? We're not speculating about what steps Hellmann's Mayonnaise will take in the future to overtake it's competitor, nor are we knocking the marketing techniques or CEO of Miracle Whip. That all sounds exceedingly stupid doesn't it? Yet we're doing that with cell phones. Apple users are routinely referred to as technology illiterate fanboys. This thread is baseless speculation between Apple and it's competitors, and Apple's marketing techniques and CEO are bashed all the time. How is any of that any less stupid or pointless than my Miracle Whip vs Hellmann's Mayonnaise made-up-internet-conflict?

I'm sure many of us can readily admit that both Hellmanns and Miracle Whip are good products, but what we like comes down to personal preference. Why can't we do the same with cell phone manufacturers?

It's been taken to a level already that some people literally HATE Apple users. In one thread on these forums, a member said quote: "If Apple and their users were to be erased from the face of Earth tomorrow, absolutely nothing of value will have been lost". We should expect disgustingly demented venom like that to come out of a Klan rally, not a discussion about cell phones. It's pathetic.

 

[dansamy]

We should expect disgustingly demented venom like that to come out of a Klan rally, not a discussion about cell phones. It's pathetic.

True. Arguing about cell phone fanboyism is kind of ridiculous. It's a lot like Ford/Chevy or Alabama/Auburn. When it all comes down to the end of the day, you have a functional smartphone that does what you want it to do. And if you don't, you look for one that does.