Apple Says Many Users 'Bought an Android Phone By Mistake'

mrspoonsi (2955715) writes "Apple CEO Tim Cook during his keynote said that around 130 million customers have purchased their first Apple device in the last twelve months. He states, 'Many of these customers were switchers from Android,' he said. 'They had bought an Android phone by mistake, and then had sought a better experience and a better life.' He added that almost half of those who have purchased an iPhone in China since December have switched from Android. However, it is worth noting that iPhones were not actually available in China until December, when pre-orders began, so it is unclear how much of the device's popularity there is simply down to the novelty factor, rather than a burning desire to flee from Android."

Comments

It true !!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

It the best mistake of my life ! :o)

Re:It true !!!!

[Z00L00K]

An android phone is quite flexible and allows quite a bit of freedom to the user. An Apple phone may look cool, but as soon as you think of stuff that you like (other favorite web browser etc.) you are toast.

Re:It true !!!!

[jjhall]

My wife and I have had "smartphones" (starting with Palm and the older Windows Mobile) for pushing 10 years now. We'd had Android phones for about 4 years, then we switched carriers in October. My wife decided she wanted to give an iPhone a try. I have an iPad for work, and she liked how it worked. She liked it for a couple of weeks, then the limitations started to get in the way. No external storage. Certain apps not available that she wanted. Settings she wasn't allowed to change such as default apps. In March we got her a new S4 and gave the iPhone to my daughter. 6 months is all she could stand being locked into Apple's walled garden. She didn't realize how open the Android system is in comparison to iOS.

If anything, I think Cook has it backwards. People go in looking for a smart phone and get sold an iPhone instead. If people are looking for an iPhone and walk out with an Android device I think it is more likely because of the price difference from an entry-level Android vs. an iPhone. It is very doubtful that they don't understand the difference with all of the marketing and hype surrounding both platforms. That or Apple is seriously underestimating the cognitive abilities of its customers, which is insulting at best.

Re:It true !!!!

[Penguinisto]

I bought my little Android phone intentionally. At $150 with a Net10 sub ($45/mo for unlimited everything, and it uses Verizon's towers), the little Huawei Ascend is cheap, it does what I want it to do, and runs quite nicely. Why am I so cheap about my phone? Because if it gets lost, broke or stolen, so what? I'll just get another one.

By contrast, a $600 iPhone or Galaxy or whatever with the typical carrier's shitty plan/contract/caps/bullshit/etc isn't exactly my idea of Nirvana. I got better things to do with the extra dosh.

Mind you, I'm not a fanboy of any camp; I have an Android phone, a box at home running Linux Mint, and a MacBook Pro (I prefer UNIX/Linux for my lap/desktop - sue me.) Pint is, Android has its limitations (esp. when integrating with the MBP), but it also has its advantages (like actual file management instead of $#@^! iTunes).

To each their own... I've begun to reach an age where watching fanboys go nuts trying to defend their idol is entertainment, not a call to arms (well, except when it comes to Microsoft... fuck Microsoft.)

White Moto X

[tbuddy]

I constantly have people refer to my Moto X as an iPhone and tell me that it's natural for me to use an iPhone since I work on a lot of Macs. I don't think the Slashdot crowd are the type to get duped, but I can recount tons of people who went in for iPhones and were sold on Galaxy S3 by Verizon sales critters. I don't think really either is going to make for a better life more than the next. You can play Angry Birds while you poop with either equally effectively.

Sounds like Tim Cook can become even richer

[kruach aum]

I hear James Randi's foundation has a million dollar prize for people who can demonstrate their telepathic prowess. Surely being able to read the minds of 130 million people would qualify?

In other news

[UnknowingFool]

Coca- Cola says consumers have drank Pepsi by mistake in the past.

Re:"By Mistake"

[SternisheFan]

So basically, is Apple's CEO saying that Apple users are idiots?

Re:"By Mistake"

[Cro Magnon]

No, just that they're buying it wrong.

Re:By mistake?

[doggo]

And I think this is what Cook was saying. People went to buy a smartphone thinking they'd have the same apps/functions/etc as the iPhone if they bought any smartphone, then found that their Android phone didn't do/use the specific thing that all their friends on iPhones could do/use.

To say that Tim Cook was saying people went to intentionally buy an iPhone, but accidentally bought an Android phone is disingenuous. You know what he meant. And if you don't, you have a serious English comprehension issue.

Now, whether cellular providers' sales people fobbed Android phones off on customers who were actually looking for an iPhone is another story.

You can imagine the scenario:

"I'd like an iPhone."
"That's $399, then."
"What?! That's a lot!"
"Well, we have these (Android) phones, and they're only $39.95."
"Is that an iPhone?"
"No, but it does all the same things."
"Oh. And only $39.95? Okay. I'll take it."

A few months later they've discovered that iPhone only app that all their friends rave about doesn't run on Android. Oops.

Android phones are also more secure.

[emil]

And this conclusion has been peer reviewed. With Cyanogenmod, you even get a line-item veto (privacy guard).

Malicious software has appeared in the iTunes store. Android, in contrast, displays everything that an application will need to access so that users can decide themselves whether to go ahead with an installation.

To compare these two security models, Han and co-workers identified 1,300 popular applications that work identically on both iOS and Android. These applications, such as Facebook, often access code libraries on smartphones called security-sensitive application programing interfaces (SS-APIs), which provide private user data or grant control over devices such as the camera.

The researchers found that 73% of iOS applications, especially advertising and analytical code, consistently accessed more SS-APIs than their counterparts on Android. Additionally, the SS-APIs invoked by iOS tended to be those providing access to sensitive resources such as user contacts.

The results imply that by allowing users to control permissions, Android may be better at preventing stealthy applications from getting hold of private information. Notably, Android also intentionally avoids using SS-APIs if non-security-sensitive APIs can be used to achieve the same functions.

Re:Android phones are also more secure.

[amicusNYCL]

You can jailbreak your phone and modify the functionality of iOS, too.

The fact that this is referred to as "jailbreaking" is telling. My phone didn't start out in jail.

Accidentally bought an Galaxy S3.

[thevirtualcat]

And then I accidentally rooted it.
And then I accidentally installed CyanogenMod on it.

Will no company save me from this vicious cycle of accidentally doing things to my phone?