(unpaywalled version on archive.today: https://archive.ph/03cwZ)
Interesting figure that comes out of the article: 87% of US teens prefer iPhones. Also the explanations given aren’t quite surprising, I guess it’s mostly because of iMessage. Teens will feel like outcasts if they get an Android phone while their friends still use iMessage because of the green bubbles.
It’s actually hilarious how we allowed consumerism to take us this far and that we have now peer pressure over smartphones.
“You’re telling me in 2023, you still have a ’Droid? […] You gotta be at least 50 years old.”
ouch 😔
Apple just has good marketing honestly, growing up it was pretty rare to give out your number so I message wasn’t really a thing. The main driver honestly is marketing. Androids are seen as cheap, iphones are seen as rich. The UI is sleek and magical. The ecosystem just works, and services like airdrop are ubiquitous. I fear we might see all major flagship players step out of the US as gen z gets older and android being branded in the US as exclusively budget and IOT.
Also I don’t think teens see a flagship that often honestly, like a galaxy S23 Ultra would likely not get any hate until they joined a group chat
Exactly, we are looking at teenage kids. They all inherit old iPhones hand me downs or cheap refurbish. A 15y.o. girl in the article brags that she uses an iPhone 11 because that’s what all her friends have. That phone has hold up pretty well and is a capable texting, photo and phone call machine. But any ~$300 Samsung will give it a run for its money. This is just marketing brain rot to which kids are far more susceptible than adults.