Hacker News Reader

Comment by coolreader18 | Hacker News Reader

As a student at a middle to upper class high school, I can say that it's definitely not about the actual features of iOS vs Android -- it's just a status symbol. People with iPhones are considered slightly "cooler", or at the very least it's more hip to have an iPhone than an Android. Apple's walled garden contributes to its dominance as well, if all your friends are using FaceTime and iMessage, there's not much that might influence someone to pick an Android phone than economic reasons. Speaking of which, the iPhone vs Android debate among teens really boils down to a thinly veiled version of classism (in my opinion). I heard a classmate respond to a question of what kind of phone she had with, "an iPhone, but it's a 6, so it's pretty much a Droid." (I'm not sure where the 2008 terminology came from, but still.)

View on HN

As another student at another upper-class high school, my experience was different. 99% of people do have iphones, but no one flaunts it as a status symbol, nor do people seem to care what generation of iphone you have. Airpods are more interesting because not that many people have them; they themselves don't grant you any status, but having airpods is an _indicator_ of status.

> Speaking of which, the iPhone vs Android debate really boils down to a thinly veiled version of classism.

Or maybe people just like iPhones?

See my response to chrisseaton's comment.

Presumably you meant in your experience, the iPhone vs Android debate among less technically literate peers you've met is sometimes thinly veiled classism?

"the debate" in a general sense certainly is about the software/hardware features and architecture.

Correct, I'll make that more clear.

Maybe these people just like iPhones and it's not some big cynical setup?

Perhaps, but somebody in one of my classes had jailbroken his iPhone and was showing off his fancy home screen, which would have been pretty par for the course for a custom Android home screen, and everybody was oohing and ahhing at how cool it was. Really just anecdotal, but I don't think iPhones are more popular purely because they've considered both options and chosen the one they liked more.

But the jailbroken phone comes with iOS and the custom Android home screen doesn't. I'm not seeing your argument here, unless it's "stock iOS isn't flashy" or "jailbreaking is cool".

> But the jailbroken phone comes with iOS and the custom Android home screen doesn't.

Right, I'm saying that it's not as much about the actual features or capabilities of the phones, but just that iPhones are cooler.

Unlikely or the split would be similar in other rich western countries. It isn't, because everyone uses WhatsApp and that is available on Android.

How can something be a “status symbol” that over 50% of people have? People have been saying Apple products are status symbols since the iPod.

Can you confirm the high social status of owning AirPods? You can't even hope to have those with an Android.

AirPods work with Android. Source: just paired mine with a Pixel 3.

Huh, I did not realize that.

1977 called. They said these aren't the droids you're looking for. ;)

Which phone do you have?

An Android (Moto Z3), which I chose because I preferred it to an iPhone, and, more recently, because Android is slightly more open-source than iOS.

Thought so. And that’s why I would not give your opinion any weight.

Could you elaborate?

You are speaking about other people’s choices and assuming you know what went in to their decision. If you had written the same thing but said you had an iphone, and that is why you bought it, that would have at least a little more weight. I would have the same issue asking an iphone owner for their thoughts on why people buy android.

Nearly all owners of brand X believe it has a more favorable value proposition than brand Y. Instead of concluding that they value different things, they often assume that the majority of owners of Y products must be buying on something other than value. When someone says people only buy Apple products to look cool, that’s what they are doing.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com