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mossme89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 2, 2009
596
131
This is something I've been thinking about. I loooove my iPhone, but I see more and more people switching to Android. This makes me worry that the iPhone will be overtaken by Android or eventually become irrelevant (see RIM Blackberry). Do you think this might happen in the next 5-10 years? Or is iPhone vs Android simply the Mac vs PC of the smartphone world, with no winner really emerging, just 2 separate choices?
 
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Han Solo 1

macrumors 6502
Mar 12, 2013
495
11
This is something I worry about. I loooove my iPhone, but I see more and more people switching to Android. This makes me worry that the iPhone will be overtaken by Android or eventually become irrelevant (see RIM Blackberry). Do you think this might happen in the next 5-10 years? Or is iPhone vs Android simply the Mac vs PC of the smartphone world, with no winner really emerging, just 2 separate choices?

Ugh. Who cares what will happen in the next 5 to 10 years? In 2024 we probably won't even be using phones as we know them now. We will all probably be wearing stupid-looking glasses that project all of our crap on our field of vision, or will have brain implants.

Seriously. Just enjoy your phone.
 

mossme89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 2, 2009
596
131
Lol, I'm usually a tech guy, but I doubt I'd want to wear Google Glasses or something like that. Too distracting.
 

Tyrion

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2002
508
5
I think there is a certain danger of that happening, but we would have to specify it further; citing sales numbers or mobile browsing shares isn't enough. Ultimately, it comes down to the different user experiences offered by the two operating systems. Since Apple traditionally places a lot of emphasis on smooth, refined and simple interfaces and a good feature set, one would instinctively assume that they don't have much to fear. There are a few surprising advantages to Android though, which I detailed in a different post. Allow me to quote myself:

I recently got a used Nexus 4 out of curiosity. I'm using it as a secondary device next to my 4S and it's been a pretty interesting experience. There's a lot I could say about the differences between the two phones, but the main point for me that really makes me love the Nexus and think of the iPhone as slightly antiquated is the basic home screen concept. Apple's app-centric and mostly static home screen (or Springboard, if you will) was awesome in 2007 because it was much prettier, easier to use and snappier than the competition's offerings. It became even more awesome in 2008 when Apple introduced the app store and one could easily download and install applications that actually added a ton of value to the device. I'd had a smartphone before the iPhone came out, but I never bothered installing 3rd party apps - too complicated, often didn't work, added little value... etc.

However, we're all used to our smartphones being awesome little pocket computers now. Personally, I'm getting more and more interested in UI paradigms that aren't app-centric, but information-centric. And that, I think, is by far the most significant difference between iOS and Android ("openness" and "customizability" are important too, but mostly to nerds) and it's the one difference Apple might have to do something about. When I unlock the iPhone, I'm presented with a mostly static app launcher. Springboard offers very little glanceable information: There's the time, the network and battery status, the date, and tiny notification badges on some apps that tell me nothing except that these apps wish to tell me something. I can customize the arrangement of the apps and the background - and that's pretty much it. As soon as I actually want to do something or find out what those notification badges are about, I have to launch an app. Again, this is not a bad design; it's served Apple well and it was revolutionary a few years back. I do think, however, that it's starting to become a bit of a burden. Why can't I customize my home screen to display information that is important TO ME, like, say, the weather, 3-5 unread mails or messages, the next few appointments in my calendar, my twitter feed... Whatever. I can only speak for myself, but having to launch separate apps to glean all of these pieces of information gets old really fast. And it's not just the apps, it's settings too - I have to delve into submenus to toggle Wifi or Bluetooth.

On the Nexus, this plays out in a way that I consider to be more productive and, to be honest, intuitive (ugh, you know something's weird when I consider Android to offer more ease of use than iOS). When I unlock the phone, I'm greeted by a home screen that offers me access to my most used apps (in the dock), to the rest of my apps via the app button, but above all: to a host of glanceable, live-updating information that I can actually customize. I unlock my Nexus and I immediately see widgets displaying my inbox, my calendar and the local weather. If I get bored of these widgets or if I discover that other scraps of information might be more useful to me, I can just replace them.

Apart from all the other relevant distinctions between the two operating systems, apart from all their respective strengths and weaknesses, THIS to me is the key difference - the screen as a personal canvas that displays the information of my choosing (Android) or as a rather rigid app launcher. I'm not saying one is necessarily better than the other; it's a matter of taste. Personally, I prefer the Android paradigm, but I'll still probably sell my Nexus again because I'm just too locked into Apple's ecosystem. I merely wish to point out that this is a very significant factor in these debates about iOS feeling "stale" and that Apple might ultimately have to do something to allow us to really make the home screen our "home". This is not about silly widgets and live wallpapers, it's about empowering the user to actually get the most out of a portable, always-connected device.
 

daneoni

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2006
11,844
1,579
It won't matter. Windows is the most popular desktop OS on the planet. But Apple still sells lots of Mac. Market share does not equal money in the bank.

Android is not even a Google product anymore its essentially Samsung's.
 

sentinelsx

macrumors 68010
Feb 28, 2011
2,004
0
This is something I worry about. I loooove my iPhone, but I see more and more people switching to Android. This makes me worry that the iPhone will be overtaken by Android or eventually become irrelevant (see RIM Blackberry). Do you think this might happen in the next 5-10 years? Or is iPhone vs Android simply the Mac vs PC of the smartphone world, with no winner really emerging, just 2 separate choices?

Lol you are worried about that?

Were you worried when ford inc was no longer an exclusive manufacturer of automobiles?

Were you worried when airbus started manufacturing planes?

Are you worried that people eat everyday what you may dislike most?
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,531
261
Kirkland
If Apple becomes complacent with the "We don't need all the bells and whistles Android has because we're Apple" than they may slip into irellevance, depends what features they decide their customers don't need. Ive personally seen a large amount of people leave them because of their insistence that customers dont need a bigger screen.

In the end it will benefit people, iPhone will either be replaced by something that gives people what they want, or Apple will open up and start giving customers features they want.

Blackberry did the same, they thought they were untouchable and refused to get with the times, look what they did with their BB OS.
 

AQUADock

macrumors 65816
Mar 20, 2011
1,049
37
If Apple becomes complacent with the "We don't need all the bells and whistles Android has because we're Apple" than they may slip into irellevance, depends what features they decide their customers don't need. Ive personally seen a large amount of people leave them because of their insistence that customers dont need a bigger screen.

In the end it will benefit people, iPhone will either be replaced by something that gives people what they want, or Apple will open up and start giving customers features they want.

Blackberry did the same, they thought they were untouchable and refused to get with the times, look what they did with their BB OS.

There is a difference, blackberry only sells phones whereas apple sells computers, tablets, MP3 players and so on. So if apple can no longer keep the iPhone popular they will still be relevant from there other products.
 

chagla

macrumors 6502a
Mar 21, 2008
797
1,727
not being a smart pant but question is presented wrong. you probably meant if IOS (operating system) could be overtaken by Android (operating system)? the answer is, Android has already surpassed ios in terms of numbers.

nonetheless "iphone" (device) continues to sell like hotcake and demand is great.
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,531
261
Kirkland
There is a difference, blackberry only sells phones whereas apple sells computers, tablets, MP3 players and so on. So if apple can no longer keep the iPhone popular they will still be relevant from there other products.

I didn't mean Apple as a company would go under, I meant they may either drop out of the Phone market, or re-invent iOS.
 

lbhskier37

macrumors regular
Mar 11, 2011
105
12
I still don't see apple slipping. I just sat through a business meeting, of the 15 people in there I saw 2 blackberries and 13 iPhones. I see lots of andriod phones in the hands of kids, but when I am anywhere with adults I see 80% iPhone. And that number has grown in the last 2 years quite a bit. The iPhone may be losing a bit of favor among geeks and techies, but in the corporate world it's all iPhone with a few blackberries ( fewer everyday). If you surf tech sites, it might seem like Apple is slipping, but the people on here are a small segment of the population.

----------

Oh and one other thing to note 90% of the phone buying public has no clue how many cores or how much ram their phone has. They don't know or care how many megapixels their phone has.
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
By the time Apple isn't relevant your iPhone 5 will have been replaced with multiple smart phones be it other iPhones or different phones.

I wouldn't "worry" about that, that is just silly. The 5 will get many updates to come.

Plus if you "love" it what does it matter? Stick with what you like. I enjoy my iPhone just fine. When I want to upgrade and I feel there is something else better out there for me then I'll get that. I'm a huge Android fan but even now my next phone will be an iPhone but that's subject to change.

My main gripe with Apple products is the price. There mark ups are crazy. Don't get me wrong I understand why, if someone is willing to pay that price then by all means they should charge it. But when you buy an apple product most of your money goes straight into their bank account, a small portion goes into what you are actually buying. Point being this is what makes Apple irrelevant to me. I've been tossing around the idea of getting an iMac for 3 years now lol. I just stick with a Windows PC because of value.
 

thehustleman

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2013
1,123
1
By the time Apple isn't relevant your iPhone 5 will have been replaced with multiple smart phones be it other iPhones or different phones.

I wouldn't "worry" about that, that is just silly. The 5 will get many updates to come.

Plus if you "love" it what does it matter? Stick with what you like. I enjoy my iPhone just fine. When I want to upgrade and I feel there is something else better out there for me then I'll get that. I'm a huge Android fan but even now my next phone will be an iPhone but that's subject to change.

My main gripe with Apple products is the price. There mark ups are crazy. Don't get me wrong I understand why, if someone is willing to pay that price then by all means they should charge it. But when you buy an apple product most of your money goes straight into their bank account, a small portion goes into what you are actually buying. Point being this is what makes Apple irrelevant to me. I've been tossing around the idea of getting an iMac for 3 years now lol. I just stick with a Windows PC because of value.

You buy an apple pc you'll not want windows again, plus they last longer.

But you're right about their markup, the iphone 5 actually costs less than the galaxy s III yet people ignorantly call it "cheaply built" i guess factually speaking, the iphone is even more cheaply built...
 

Tarzanman

macrumors 65816
Jul 16, 2010
1,304
15
Not sure if serious....

The iPhone has already been overtaken. There are more android phones around than iPhones.
 

sentinelsx

macrumors 68010
Feb 28, 2011
2,004
0
You buy an apple pc you'll not want windows again, plus they last longer.

But you're right about their markup, the iphone 5 actually costs less than the galaxy s III yet people ignorantly call it "cheaply built" i guess factually speaking, the iphone is even more cheaply built...
That would be cool if I didn't see people using MacBook airs as windows ultrabooks.
 

sentinelsx

macrumors 68010
Feb 28, 2011
2,004
0
Probably running some windows only stuff

I know the only reason I have wanted to buy a Mac is for ios app dev.

Otherwise 90% of time I would have windows 7 running on it. OS X is nice but it doesn't offer anything else amazing over win7 IMO. I am not a musician either so I guess that helps it too.

I see the same with quote a few people I know.
 

Oletros

macrumors 603
Jul 27, 2009
6,002
60
Premià de Mar
Because it costs $$$ to develop and that $$$ belongs to shareholders

And? Are you saying that a company can't offer a free product?

Android objectiva was not being a source of direct revenue, it was a defensive move against someone having too much power on mobile devices.

By the way, I highly doubt that Android costs are too high
 

kenypowa

macrumors 6502a
Oct 16, 2008
711
79
somewhere
Because it costs $$$ to develop and that $$$ belongs to shareholders

Google is not a traditional company and does not intend to become one. Larry Page said it almost 10 years ago. If they only focus on direct revenue, you will not get Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, Calendar, Android, Google Glass, Google Driver, Driverless cars etc. They are extremely successful because they think different.
 
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