Where does your loyalty come from?

[sabal]

@Michael CM1, Nebulance, Moosquared, Profets, Irish Rose- Exactly the type of replies I was looking for. Well reasoned, thoughful, and and ones that contribute to the thread.

All of your reasons make sense. So the general view I get is that what no one beats Apple at is the ecosystem (and iCloud is included here). And it is true. I have an iPhone, iPad, and a macbook air and after spending hundreds of dollars on apps it really would be hard to switch to another operating system.

My question now would be what it would take for you guys to switch? I know for me it's not going to be easy. A company's going to first of all have to have some sort of subsidy or program so that apps bought on another os can be cross-downloaded to a new one. And then they would have to have a similar style of os across all their computing divisions (laptops, tablets, desktops, mobile phones).

Great to see some of the responses coming through.

What's with all these android wankers needing to feel better about them selves by coming here. Were they not loved as children or something?

Really? It seems to me that you're the one bringing a mother into an anonymous internet forum for no reason whatsover. How classy mate. And not everyone who criticises Apple has to be a "Android wanker." Normal people simply have opinions. Get over it.

I stopped reading here.

Thank you for your insightful post. You're determination to respond to this thread by saying you've stopped reading has helped this macrumors community so much. </s

 

[mantan]

While a lot of people like to wax philosophic about the magical art that is Apple, for me it's mostly economic.

My family has so much money invested in the iTunes ecosystem and multiple devices right now that it's easier to stay with Apple than to seriously shop for something else.

But if somebody could build a product compelling enough for me to switch, I'd do it in a heartbeat. My ultimate loyalty is to what works best for me as a consumer.

I truly hope there continues to be strong competition for Apple in the phone and tablet market. Too many people around here have the simpleton mentality that when 'Apple wins, they win.' Innovation stems from competition. The iPhone 4 was HUGE leap because Apple felt the pressure of Android devices. Before that users were begging for simple software items like 'copy and paste' and MMS.

 

[Sedrick]

All these defensive responses are very predictable and add nothing to the conversation. The fact that this thread illicits comments like "Android wankers" and "not being loved by your mother" is typical and weak.

Sadly, the mantra "It just works" has be come an excuse for why the iPhone/iOS no longer innovates, but plays it safe. Of course "it just works" because Apple has perfected simple like no one else can. Where other OS's falter is because of trying to do more, rather than remain static for 5+ years, because the money's good.

People like myself (and perhaps the OP) love the iPhone, but complain because Apple is playing it safe and we know they could do more, much more. Instead, it's becoming a very static, boring device and OS. Perhaps that's enough for the faithful, but the rest of us feel Apple is more concerned about racking up more billions rather than taking any chances and, once again, producing something spectacular.

Of course Apple doesn't owe us anything, but nor do we own them blind praise for playing it safe and putting the dollar first.

 

[ChrisTX]

I used to think that specs after all of this time really did matter. That maybe the uniform form factor of the iPhone with it's smaller screen, and slightly underpowered specs weren't good enough. However after having used the Galaxy S III extensively, I've come to appreciate the iPhone that much more. The screen might be smaller, and now there are quad core phones out that benchmark higher than the iPhone. However none of them "Just work" quite like the iPhone does. Sometimes you want to just use Facebook, send a tweet, flawlessly take a picture, all without lag, or crashing. Heck, sometimes you just want to type on the phone without lag from the keyboard, or without inaccurate text prediction. In the end, it's true that the iPhone just simply performs as a modern day smartphone better than the rest.

 

[dotme]

Ecosystem, build quality, resale value, and US based tech support. My iPhone is solid, runs smooth and fast, does everything I need it to do... and does it well.

I don't drink cool aid. But I know my phone holds its value far better than most of its counterparts, it gets regular updates, and is backed by a company with one of the best after-sales support services of any company in any industry. I've said it before - Apple creates products that delight people and back them with superb support from educated reps. That kind of experience creates fans, not just customers.

 

[Muse84]

All these defensive responses are very predictable and add nothing to the conversation. The fact that this thread illicits comments like "Android wankers" and "not being loved by your mother" is typical and weak.

Sadly, the mantra "It just works" has be come an excuse for why the iPhone/iOS no longer innovates, but plays it safe. Of course "it just works" because Apple has perfected simple like no one else can. Where other OS's falter is because of trying to do more, rather than remain static for 5+ years, because the money's good.

People like myself (and perhaps the OP) love the iPhone, but complain because Apple is playing it safe and we know they could do more, much more. Instead, it's becoming a very static, boring device and OS. Perhaps that's enough for the faithful, but the rest of us feel Apple is more concerned about racking up more billions rather than taking any chances and, once again, producing something spectacular.

Of course Apple doesn't owe us anything, but nor do we own them blind praise for playing it safe and putting the dollar first.

I'm not quite sure I agree with the playing it safe idea. To me an average customer I don't really see any company "innovating" to a great extent. It's true that Samsung probably beats the iPhone hands down with chip specs and features like face unlock etc.. But all I'm saying is that to 99% of the custome base these figures mean nothing. If it works it works no matter how much ram or CPU cores it has.

Now if Samsung were to really innovate big stlye with a feature that is a game changer then that would obviously mean I would consider them. I'm not at all anti android/Samsung etc I just enjoy apple products and the competition haven't done enough yet to make me way to switch

But I respect everyone's freedom to choose and I'm sure ppl will pick the best phone for their circumstances. No need for name calling from either sides.

 

[profets]

All these defensive responses are very predictable and add nothing to the conversation. The fact that this thread illicits comments like "Android wankers" and "not being loved by your mother" is typical and weak.

Sadly, the mantra "It just works" has be come an excuse for why the iPhone/iOS no longer innovates, but plays it safe. Of course "it just works" because Apple has perfected simple like no one else can. Where other OS's falter is because of trying to do more, rather than remain static for 5+ years, because the money's good.

People like myself (and perhaps the OP) love the iPhone, but complain because Apple is playing it safe and we know they could do more, much more. Instead, it's becoming a very static, boring device and OS. Perhaps that's enough for the faithful, but the rest of us feel Apple is more concerned about racking up more billions rather than taking any chances and, once again, producing something spectacular.

Of course Apple doesn't owe us anything, but nor do we own them blind praise for playing it safe and putting the dollar first.

Can you give some examples of other manufacturers that are innovating more, or something you think Apple should be doing?

It does just work - the iPhone, iOS - but that doesn't mean apple can't add features. Creating the iPhone and launching it was innovative and changed the whole market. I've really not seen something like that from anyone else, nor can you really expect that type of change every year.

 

[TC25]

Ecosystem.

Agreed, 100%. Ecosystem, not loyalty. Apple is continuing to integrate their products, iPhone, iPad, iPod, AppleTV, etc. and, for me, it works. The other manufacturers don't have this, so what do they sell? Bigger screen, faster processor, etc., which appeals to the 'Faster CPU and Bigger Screen = Better' crowd.

 

[eastercat]

Here are my reasons:
-Ergonomics. Holding the android phones at the at&t store brought home a big point; they're too big for my hand. I can't even type one handed. The width of the iphone is perfect for me.
If the elongated design is accurate, this allows for a bigger screen but doesn't discriminate against those with smaller hands.

-Updates. My room mates don't jb and if they had an android they wouldn't root either. Yet, if you want ice cream sandwich or jellybean, you have to root many of the older android phones to get it because the carriers determine when you get the newest os. That's BS.

-Widgets. I jb my phone and if I wanted widgets I'd have installed them. Guess what? Not interested. Same for theming. I have better uses for my battery that doesn't involve wasting it on decorative things that aren't useful.
If you have a brain, it's not hard to jb. You can use the widgets and not subject us to this battery drainer.

-Ecosystem. Whether it's the accessories, apps or its exclusive compatibility with itunes, this is an overall experience.

-Google factor. I'm not interested in trusting everything to google. I feel they've forgotten about their motto, "don't be evil". Having one company hold all my information is something I'm not interested in.

Off topic: I want to know why the OP is talking about a device that hasn't even been released?
The op talked about the newly announced lumia. You have no idea if it's really going to be great. You're just going off the specs; that doesn't tell you about the phone's real world performance. You don't know if animations are going to be jerky or if the phone is going to lag.
It's no different than when people were degrading the ipad and saying the upcoming release of the rim playbook/hp tablet/samsung tablet/ms tablet was going to blow it out of the water.
Unless you're from the future, talk about a device that has actually been released; otherwise, it's just trolling.

 

[mantan]

I used to think that specs after all of this time really did matter. That maybe the uniform form factor of the iPhone with it's smaller screen, and slightly underpowered specs weren't good enough. However after having used the Galaxy S III extensively, I've come to appreciate the iPhone that much more. The screen might be smaller, and now there are quad core phones out that benchmark higher than the iPhone. However none of them "Just work" quite like the iPhone does. Sometimes you want to just use Facebook, send a tweet, flawlessly take a picture, all without lag, or crashing. Heck, sometimes you just want to type on the phone without lag from the keyboard, or without inaccurate text prediction. In the end, it's true that the iPhone just simply performs as a modern day smartphone better than the rest.

Your argument would've been stronger without using Facebook as an example. Up until the recent release that was one the most unstable major apps available....slow, laggy, unreliable.

I understand that is more a result of a poorly coded app than anything to do with the device itself but still....

 

[ChrisTX]

Your argument would've been stronger without using Facebook as an example. Up until the recent release that was one the most unstable major apps available....slow, laggy, unreliable.

I understand that is more a result of a poorly coded app than anything to do with the device itself but still....

I'm sorry, but on Android specifically the S III, Facebook app still crashes. My point is still valid.

 

[racer1441]

Really? It seems to me that you're the one bringing a mother into an anonymous internet forum for no reason whatsover. How classy mate. And not everyone who criticises Apple has to be a "Android wanker." Normal people simply have opinions. Get over it.

</s

You don't have an opinion, you have an agenda, and a weak one at that.

 

[VSMacOne]

Apple offers the best service on the market. The ecosystem they've built is second to none, and the quality of their hardware and software is also second to none. Apple fits my needs as a consumer, and unless they start doing something stupid I will stick with them. I use iTunes to buy my music, have an MBP, iPad, iPhones in my family. It's an easy decision for me.

 

[rrl]

It's about who lets you down the least. Until recently, that was Apple, but now it's Google and Samsung.

It's never been Microsoft.

 

[MadGoat]

My loyalty came from having over a thousand dollars of apps that I didn't want to buy again.

 

[Dr McKay]

It was having so many apps from having an iPad and every iPhone except the 3GS that kept me Apple for so long. But after a while I started to crave a bigger screen, 3.5 inches was far too small for my hands. iOS had felt stale and boring for a while. I made the jump to a 4.3 inch Lumia 900 and at first it felt great, Windows Phone still feels great. However now I want an even larger screen to enjoy web browsing on. As the Lumia 920 has a 4.5 inch screen Im tempted to give that a go.

 

[Geekbabe]

This type of attitude is exactly what I'm talking about. Look I have no agenda. Why would I? Do I get the profits that android or windows phone generate. I don't. This isn't some type of propaganda that I'm trying to spread mate. I was simply curious and if it strikes a nerve of yours so be it.

My statements are opinion? Of course they're opinion as your post is and as almost every forum post on macrumors is. That's the point of a forum. To post your opinion and to gain help and to see what others think. It's a collective process. Something I'm sure someone from the military understands.

I'm not saying the iPhone is bad. It's a great phone. I have one as well. But to say that the iPhone is good but the others have not innovated is completely wrong. What about the new lumia 920. Most tech critiques consider it's industrial design to be among the best. This is a mac forum so I'm not going to list all it's features but the stuff like the new floating image technology is innovation sir.

My point of convention was and is that innovation is bringing something new to the table.I mean that's why Apple has such a following. Because the original iPhone innovated and people expected that to continue. Yet, what will the iPhone 5 bring to the table that we haven't seen anywhere else on any other device on any other OS? Yes, we can wait for the event. It makes sense to. But based on the rumours, there seems to be nothing new.

And I as a customer would feel cheated. I don't have the gall to say that I'm right. I want Apple to prove me wrong.

Why would anybody want to go buy a Lumina when they might already have hundreds of dollars invested in ios apps? Integration of your existing devices is a very compelling reason to stay with Apple, jumping ship to a new platform involves a fiscal cost as well as a learning curve that many aren't interested in paying.

iOS devices simply work, out of the box, no worries about when you are going to get Jelly Bean, no worries about unlocking boot loaders or rooting. An average person can have a totally nice experience using an iPhone or iPad without jail breaking. Simplicity of design, ease of use.. These things count & they count big for a lot of people & Apple clearly serves this market & serves them well.

Customer service is another reason many stay with Apple, if you have a problem with your device,help is just a click, phone call or trip to the store away. I have & love android devices but I can't sit here and be all techno elitist snobby looking down my nose at people who prefer the Apple ecosystem.

 

[Flux.Capacitor]

For me personally, my loyalty stands with them because to date they haven't given me a reason to "stray". The way I see it, Apple has never really been a "bleeding edge" company anyway. They don't usually throw in fancy technology just because it's the hottest buzz-word in the market. It needs to tie in well with the product (not eat battery too much) and have a decent market for it. To me, many of those specs are just marketing gimmicks to sell more products, like when the expandable SD card was on the Motorola tablets, yet it wasn't even functional when it was released.

Personally, I do not frequent any merchants that accept NFC, so for me it's a non factor. I'm not going to give my phone to the waiter to pay by tab. Cant use it at the movie theaters, or the grocery store I go to. And not even sure I can use it at the stores I shop at.

A Quad Core processor? How does that improve my experience in the real world? does it make the Android UI smoother than my iOS? Does the email come in quicker? Texts go faster? Web Browser noticeably quicker? It does however tax the batter more I believe.

I do not work for the govt so I don't care about the facial recognition. SD card, I have no need for one. I have two friends with Android phones with SD cards and neither of them has ever used it. And if I do in the future, I have the cloud to back up some of my content if I need the room, or if I need photos, I have the Camera Connection Kit. LTE, I can see a possible need for it now (maybe), but last year when I got my 4S, LTE wasn’t even available on my carrier, and I currently stream Netflix movies occasionally and have no buffering issues.

What I do have that could have been considered cutting edge when I got my 4S - Retina Screen, Bluetooth 4.0, Siri, Cloud integration across iOS devices, AirPlay and one of the best camera's (on a phone) on the market.

So to answer the question, I'm loyal because their quality has always been excellent, I love the design of both their hardware and their software, I know I can get products that do pretty much anything that is mainstream and do it well and basically because they make great products that fit MY lifestyle perfectly and I rarely need to go to different companies to fulfill my needs.

 

[MacManTexas56]

This type of attitude is exactly what I'm talking about. Look I have no agenda. Why would I? Do I get the profits that android or windows phone generate. I don't. This isn't some type of propaganda that I'm trying to spread mate. I was simply curious and if it strikes a nerve of yours so be it.

My statements are opinion? Of course they're opinion as your post is and as almost every forum post on macrumors is. That's the point of a forum. To post your opinion and to gain help and to see what others think. It's a collective process. Something I'm sure someone from the military understands.

I'm not saying the iPhone is bad. It's a great phone. I have one as well. But to say that the iPhone is good but the others have not innovated is completely wrong. What about the new lumia 920. Most tech critiques consider it's industrial design to be among the best. This is a mac forum so I'm not going to list all it's features but the stuff like the new floating image technology is innovation sir.

My point of convention was and is that innovation is bringing something new to the table.I mean that's why Apple has such a following. Because the original iPhone innovated and people expected that to continue. Yet, what will the iPhone 5 bring to the table that we haven't seen anywhere else on any other device on any other OS? Yes, we can wait for the event. It makes sense to. But based on the rumours, there seems to be nothing new.

And I as a customer would feel cheated. I don't have the gall to say that I'm right. I want Apple to prove me wrong.

It all depends on the type of users you are referring to. I know so many people that barely know how to use a windows computer, but pick up an iPhone and are pro's within a day or so. The phrase, "it just works" is an easy way to describe why so many people are loyal to Apple. The computers and iphones can be on for month's without having to reboot and they just simply work.

Have an issue with the phone for whatever reason and you have FREE support at the Genius bar. Oops I dropped my phone and i didn't have accidental damage? Only $150 to get another replacement is amazing. Other companies have still not figured out that if you want to be top notch.....you need top notch customer service.

I'll be honest, I've gotten bored with iOS and have wanted to try new things. I've tried Galaxy Note, Galaxy Nexus, and a Nexus 7. The battery life on the Nexus 7 was the only one that was true to what they said it would be. I'm not a heavy user, but with Galaxy Nexus and Note I could barely make it until 4pm without having to find a plug to charge my phone. I had an issue with Galaxy Nexus and contacted Google, and they said sorry contact Samsung. Instantly I was turned off and said I wanted to return my defective device. They would email here and there and said they sent me an RMA and return shipping label. I would email back and say I never got it. I would call- on hold for 45 minutes. Then get someone that said they will send again via email and good bye! When all said and done....I had to file a dispute with my credit card company to get my money back. Google Play store has the worst customer service I have ever seen in my life. I learned real quick that I had made a mistake.

Besides the things above, it's the ease of use. My parents are older and don't have much computer knowledge. They were using a Dell for years and would call me weekly for a basic question that they just couldn't figure out. Bought then a Mac and iPhones and i seriously haven't gotten a call since.

Yes the iphone can get boring at times bc i've used it since 2007....but it seriously just works. With Android I had to make several compromises just to use the device and just didn't ever feel comfortable with the device. The problem you are referring to about having the latest and greatest....Apple doesn't need to be there. To me, Samsung is trying way too hard to gain customer that they release a new phone every 6 months? If I were a loyal Samsung fan that would piss me off more than anything that I just got a shiny new S3 and an S4 is coming out just 6 months later.

Why do the latest and greatest matter if the overall experience sucks?

 

[blackhand1001]

I will NEVER go back to Android. I love the iPhone because its simple yet powerful at the same time. When I open my phone I see that its professional and organized. Every time I've used an Android it just seems like its built and designed by a 5th grader. Nothing looks as professional and organized as the iPhone does. A new iPhone comes out once a year and that's fair. If you buy an Android phone though, a few months later a bigger and better one comes out and its annoying. Anyone can go out and get a Galaxy S3 right now but come January, the S4 or whatever will come out. I hate the constant updates that show up on your taskbar and I really can't stand the design, look and feel of the Market or Google Play or whatever they're calling it now.

This is my opinion so I don't want anybody coming back saying that i'm an idiot blah blah blah. This is just what I think.

The fact that you said NEVER in captital letters proves that your not open to other options and are a sheep following the herd.

 

[MacManTexas56]

The fact that you said NEVER in captital letters proves that your not open to other options and are a sheep following the herd.

get over yourself. The sheep thing gets old. People have their reasons.

 

[Oohara]

This is an interesting one. Sure, we can all have our practical reasons for liking one OS/"ecosystem" or the other. This is what's on the level of 'technology'. If we respond on this level, the answer will contain just those practical reasons. "I think the iPhone looks better." "The Apple ecosystem fits me better." "Google Now is better than Siri." Etc.

If however this kind of topic immediately leads us to a strong display of emotion, then we are probably reacting on another level. This is on the emotional level, and has nothing at all to do with 'technology' or practical reasons.

There can be many and mixed reasons for this, but generally speaking they would have to do with disturbances during the identification building phase of our early lives. We are not done with finding a secure identity within ourselves, as guided by parents and others around us, so we look desperately - of course totally unbeknownst to us - for new things to reinforce our identity with.

Apple, Google and other smartphone OS/ecosystem creators are strong business cultures, carefully built up to present an "attitude" or a set of beliefs to provide a strong sense of personal security, interest and utility. These are complex structures and do in many ways mimic "naturally" formed social units, such as families. As such, they can easily slip inside our 'emotional skin' and do for this reason provide especially tempting structures for us to use to patch together our non-sufficient identities with.

So we choose one. I am now part of the Apple family, and defend my little brother the iPhone as if he were a real person!! Or I am now part of the Android family, and if you take a piss on the "open" OS philosophy, you might as well just have insulted my mother!!1!

There you have it. The phenomena of blind fanboyism/rage replies are mostly due to the state of our emotional lives, though we like to say that our behaviour in this area is motivated by concerns of 'technology'.

 

[nickchallis92]

What i dont get is why anyone was still buying the 4S after the S3 came out.

even on launch day, the S3 was far cheaper than a 4S, despite having 576x more features

 

[marzer]

Apple innovation goes way beyond the "tech specs" of a latest single product release.

My whole-house media system is well integrated, automated, affordable and convenient due to the Apple "eco-system." No other tech provider makes such a well integrated product line. At least for my needs.

To duplicate it with a professional system would cost 10's of thousands of dollars, contain non-OTS proprietary stuff and still NOT be plug-and-play like the Apple products.

Example: My son got an iPod touch this summer for his b-day. He realized within the week he could effortlessly route the sound (using Airplay) through the overhead speakers in the living room during game play. Some grand prix race car game booming overhead while kicked back in a recliner.

 

[Flux.Capacitor]

What i dont get is why anyone was still buying the 4S after the S3 came out.

even on launch day, the S3 was far cheaper than a 4S, despite having 576x more features

But That's just it... It's much more than just specs or "features". It's the entire experience. Something that for me, at least, no other company can provide. And definitely a quad core processor or NFC can do either.