We've launched our new website, we would love to hear your thoughts & feedback.

Close X

Can’t We All Just…. Get Along? [Opinion]

posted on Oct 2nd 2012 at 10:24am by Joe Tomasone

I ran across a post on Google+ recently in which a bunch of Android fans were essentially mocking and making fun of iPhone users. 

Normally, this wouldn’t be worth discussing, but some of the comments passed over a certain line of decency – attacking the iPhone owner as much or more than the device.   For example:

“He can harden up, stevie jobs has his (and the rest) balls in his purse. The softest wool ever!”

“IPhone = Smartphone for dumb people.”

 

What struck me as interesting about this is that I can’t recall ever seeing wholesale indictment of Android users from the iPhone community.   There is respect that they chose the Android platform, and we can good-naturedly argue features and the like, but when it gets right down to it, everyone chooses what they like best for the reasons that are important to that individual.   For anyone else to conclude that your smartphone choice makes you “dumb” is, well, dumb.

 

Android Is Cool Too

I happened to stop by an AT&T store, and they had a Samsung Galaxy S3 on display, so I killed some time checking it out.   After 15 minutes or so of playing with it, I concluded that it was certainly a good-looking phone, and much, much better than some of the other Android phones I’d checked out.  I’m confident that I could make it my primary phone with minimal effort and enjoy it as much as any other Android owner, but for myself and my family, the Apple ecosystem meets our needs much better – and I am including Apple TV, iPods, iPads, and my MacBook Air in that statement, not just the iPhone.

Fact is, I wasn’t originally going to buy an iPhone.   As I mentioned in this piece, I was a PalmOS/Windows user until I took a leap of faith and tried an iPhone.  I gave up my Treo (and my investment in apps and accessories) to go with the iPhone; I could do it all again with Android – I just don’t see what advantage I would gain by switching.    Similarly, Android users don’t see any reason to switch, and that’s OK.  You should use what works for you, whether it’s someone else’s preference or not.   For some reason, however, not everyone is satisfied with that.

 

A Different Battleground

Interestingly, I don’t view this Android vs. Apple fanboyism in terms of Ford vs. Chevy, PC vs. Mac, or any other similar debate.   Instead, I see it as being more analogous to Red Sox vs. Yankees.  Let me explain why.

Red Sox fans hate the Yankees.  They hate Yankee fans.   They hate Yankee Stadium.  They probably hate all of New York.   Yankee fans?  They don’t hate the Sox, Boston, or even Curt Shilling.  The Red Sox are to a Yankee fan more like that little annoying brother whom you keep at arms length as he swings at you wildly with both fists.    The whole “Evil Empire” nickname that the Boston management attached to the Yankees was almost a badge of honor instead of an insult.   This feels like that.  Those Android fans to me are the little brother that you can drive insane with just a few carefully chosen words about any iOS superiority.   They have to prove 1000% that Android is superior to iOS/iPhone/Apple in every way possible, to what even a detached and uninterested onlooker must conclude is overkill. 

 

Superiority Complex

Take NFC, for example.   Android fans are slamming the iPhone for not having NFC while they have had it for over a year.  However, when I’ve asked some of these folks what they’ve used NFC for, it suddenly gets a little… quiet.   The only group to speak up are Galaxy S3 users who point to the NFC file transfer ability.   When I point out that all the NFC does is negotiate a Bluetooth session to do the actual file transfer, suddenly NFC seems a little less like a must-have feature.   As for mobile payments, only 23 merchants currently accept Google Wallet NFC payments today – and given that Microsoft and Apple are unlikely to adopt a Google payment system, it remains to be seen how successful Google Wallet will ever be.    Even if Microsoft and Apple did get on board with NFC payments, it’s unlikely that it would be compatible with Google Wallet for several reasons.   Nokia currently doesn’t support payments with their NFC-enabled phones.   I have to believe that for mobile payments to be successful, they must be totally cross-platform – perhaps brought about by someone like PayPal or Square.

The one cool feature that Samsung supports with NFC is TecTiles – which can be programmed to do several things: Change your phone’s settings, share contact data (but only with other Samsung phones, currently, which negates much of its usefulness), send a text, or make a call, simply by touching your phone to the TecTile.    I haven’t talked to anyone who has used this feature yet, but it does sound interesting, especially for someone who has to repeat one of these actions often.

Meanwhile, NFC has been the target of significant vulnerabilities on Android.   At Black Hat in June, Charlie Miller demonstrated a hack that forced an Android handset to go to a maliciously crafted site and download malware – and all he had to do was walk by.      The Galaxy S3 was found to be vulnerable to a hack in which attackers were able to download everything from the device – and NFC was one of the attack vectors.   Thus far, there is no fix for this issue from Samsung.   You’d think that NOT having NFC would be advantageous, but apparently it’s still considered a huge oversight by Apple as far as Android fans are concerned. 

LTE was another major feature that Apple was decried for “being late to the party”, as many phones have had LTE for over a year.   However, the vast majority of those phones had horrid battery life when using LTE due to inefficient LTE chipsets, and that would be a dealbreaker for Apple.  Indeed, the LTE chipset used in the iPhone 5 is noted as being markedly more efficient than previous chipsets – which means that the iPhone 5 doesn’t have substantially shorter battery life.   Late to the party?  Perhaps, but arriving in much better shape.   Imagine the uproar if the iPhone 4S had included LTE but only 30% of the battery life…

 

It’s All Good

To be sure, there’s no perfect phone, no perfect OS, no perfect company; Apple, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, HTC, RIM, and all the other players have made mistakes in their pursuit of mobile phone excellence.   No company will likely ever come up with a phone/OS combination that appeals to everyone in the world – and again, that’s OK.      As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.   You may rail against Apple’s “walled garden” App Store – but I prefer that to the growing malware issues that Android is suffering.    Maps under iOS 6 sucks?  Mostly, sure, but iOS 6 brought me integrated iMessages, so I can originate or answer iMessages on my iPhone, iPad, OR Mac.   That’s not important to you?   That’s OK.   What IS important is that you have a choice.   A lot of them, actually.   And you can pick what works for you, not what works for the other guy.  

So why do some folks get so hostile over it?   Is this just a mob frenzy incited by ads (Droid, Samsung, Samsung, Samsung)  from Android manufacturers?  Use what works for you – be it Apple, Android, Windows Phone, or whatever.   But I believe that we need to show more respect for others and their choices.    Is that too much to ask?   Can’t we all just… Get along?

 

What do you think?  Let us know in the comments.   Android fans are more than welcome to chime in!

  • Sean Kacer
    • gfelice24@gmail.com

      That’s funny. The actual article quoting IPhone user’s comments was fairly tame. BUT the comments about the article were getting vulgar and coming from android users. Same as always.

  • Henkjoost

    Hi, Android user here :) and proud to be..
    And me being proud about being an Android user.. I guess that makes me want to hate on iPhone. Well I do not necessarily want to hate.. but it just happens. It started somewhere and the other responded with hating too. Pointless.

    Everyone wants his/her device to be the best. You take some arguments, and use them to tell why your phone is the best. So, other side is responding… and than hell breaks lose.

    Just like you said:
    “But I believe that we need to show more respect for others and their choices. Is that too much to ask? Can’t we all just… Get along?”

    I totally agree on that!

    but to be honest when someone asks me which phone they have to get. I’ll tell them Android Device, HTC. When they want an iPhone I tell them that it sure is a good choice too. but… you know ;)

    I never had an iPhone, so how do I know where I’m talking about. Well, my gf and housemate and best friend all using iPhone’s and Mac.

    Ow and when everyone around you is using Apple, you sure sometimes need to defend yourself (My choice, Android). It just happens.

    It’s just all overrated like the patent-wars.

    P.S.

    You said you see it as being more analogous to Red Sox vs. Yankees.
    Well, same for me but than iPhone users are the Red Sox’.

    When I read that I thought: ‘well I guess I was all wrong.. and I think you are wrong too.’ Both Android and iPhone fanboys do the same. But we need to blame the other why they are more annoying than we are. same story>> What is better iPhone of Android<>Who is more annoying Applefanboy or Androidfanboy. We all want to defend ourselves. Human Nature?

    I believe that we need to show more respect for others and their choices. And Start with looking at your own.

    I sure can be annoying and I sure do like Android,HTC above iPhone.
    I think, though, I can be pretty f** happy with an iPhone too.

    Sorry for English mistakes and shit, I’m from Holland.

    Ow, and I love Apple ♥

  • RedHeadedTechie

    From the perspective of someone who does own an iOS device, I receive some snobbish behavior coming from the Apple users. I built my own custom PC from scratch and rarely need to upgrade my computer but one part, every couple of years. When I have told somebody this, they literally asked, “Why not just a Mac? They make the most advanced hardware and never get virus ever. Speaking of which, who do you put up with all those viruses that is on your computer.” I tired to explain why Mac isn’t the most advanced and that I actually never had any issues with viruses because I browse the web with some common sense. He couldn’t accept my answer and treated me like I was a little child that is new in the world while trying to explain why Apple has the most advanced computing equipment in the world and I just sat there thinking, “My God, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    Ever since then, he always looked down on me for my choices of computer and technology. Almost every person that I have met(about 85%) using an Apple device seemed to have that mentality of “Oh bless his heart. He doesn’t know any better.” Why would I want to involve myself with a culture the nurtures that kind of behavior is beyond me. To top it all off, Apple sues anything that resembles their patented “rectangle with rounded corners” (They are even suing a polish grocery store for logo infringement and their web address is too close to being “apple”: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409669,00.asp). So for many Android users had enough of this and are fighting back, much like the kid that has been the victim of a snobbish, rich, smarta**.

  • Henkjoost

    I believe that we need to show more respect for others and their choices. And Start with looking at your own. >>

    I mean, start with looking at yourself, the way you behave and react to others, especially the ones not using the device YOU like. I think you’ll see.. we (almost) all do the same.

  • Nick Cajos

    “I can’t recall ever seeing wholesale indictment of Android users from the iPhone community. There is respect that they chose the Android platform”

    Ok, here’s where an interesting topic turned into a one-sided garbage post. The hate, bias, and contempt of non-Apple from the Apple camp is not only rampant, but preceded any Android hate.

    Think back to the Mac vs PC advertisements. Not only were they inaccurate and stereotyping, they were in poor taste and severely insulting to those who use Windows computers. Mac users adopted the mentality in those ads, and it simply continued with iPhone users.

    Even before Android was released, many iPhone users considered their phones, and by extension themselves, better than those around them. I saw this personally and in aggregate online. When Android first came out, the contempt increased, especially before Android was as polished as it is now. Even Steve Jobs and Tim Cook have never missed an opportunity to publicly insult other products, and by extension, their users.

    The insults coming from the Android side stem from two motivations. First, it is retaliation for all the crap thrown on them from the Apple side. And second, there is a general dislike of Apple as a *company*. It’s business practices, litigative habits, advertising campaigns (including smear campaigns), and general pompousness and air of superiority are sickening.

    You fail to see both sides of the issue, and so your plea for Android users to play nice carries little weight.

  • Lonnie

    I have to admit, even as an android fan boy, I think that many of the opinions offered in this post are very insightful, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

    However, one thing I would like to add is that fans of Apple –and iPhone users more specifically — have been known to engage in some of the same name-calling as the Android users that inspired this article. An example that comes to mind is the unfavorable response by iPhone owners to the release of Instagram for Android. Due to the outrage of iPhone users at the rapid influx of pictures posted to Instagram from Android phones, the perceived inferior quality of these pictures compared to those captured on iPhones, and the collective sentiment among iPhone users that something valuable to them — the exclusivity of Instagram to the IOS platform — had been taken away, many estranged iPhone owners took to Twitter to post disparaging remarks directed at owners of Android devices:

    (http://phandroid.com/2012/04/03/iphone-users-are-disgusted-by-new-android-users-signing-up-for-instagram-humor/)

    As can plainly be seen in the link above, we should be careful to say that all of the hate-mongering and character-bashing takes place on one side of the smartphone divide or the other. Clearly people have the tendency to take their OS allegiance too seriously, and that is true regardless of whether they own Android or IOS devices.

    Maybe the most important distinction to be made here is not between people who prefer iPhones or Androids, but rather between those of us who maintain a delusional sense of superiority as a result of their smartphone preferences, and those of us who recognize that IOS, Android, Windows Phone, BBOS and the like are all sound mobile computing solutions for the consumer, and it is up to the end user to decide which of these platforms is best suited for their needs.

  • Don108

    The problem, IMO, is the identification of self with an object or belief. If someone has a different object or belief, then your’s might be “wrong,” and the psyche simply won’t allow it. Therefore, it is important to attack not just the object or belief of another, but the other person as well. Their belief–that their phone works best for them or that their religion is best for them–cannot be allowed to survive.

    People will continue to battle their brains out from within their tiny boxes, never realizing there is a greater world outside the box.

  • Brandon

    Screw you guys… I’m getting an HTC 8X. So I don’t have a good app ecosystem or any of the fancy Android stuff like NFC, or normal things like VPN support.

    :)

    (/me puts on flame retardant suit and giggles maniacally)

  • Mike

    This article is well written and written from the perspective of an iPhone user. The same article could be written from an Android user’s perspective. This whole thing is a two ways street. My good friend is very Windows and Google Android and can’t wait for the Surface tablet. I am very Apple in two iMacs (I work with one), two iPads (one from work) and an iPhone. We talk about tech stuff and stay away from arguments. There is no need. His devices fit his lifestyle. My devices fit my lifestyle. We want what makes us feel good. My Apple products bring a smile to my face. That is the end of the story as far as I am concerned. We can live peacefully together. Hey, even Packer fans and Vikings fan can get married!

  • ozzzy3z

    “What struck me as interesting about this is that I can’t recall ever seeing wholesale indictment of Android users from the iPhone community.” Yeah right; and Fox “news” gives Obama a fair shake. Get real.

  • jhrogersii

    The unfortunate thing is that fanboyism tends to stamp out any room for some reasoned debate with any substance. It all just degenerates into elementary school playground and “Your Momma” jokes. I do know this. No matter what any tech writer on any site, (or any human being at all, for that matter) says, they are biased in one way or another. True objectivity DOES NOT EXIST. It isn’t compatible with basic humanity. People who say that are completely objective are usually the ones most blind to the fact that there are pre-conceived notions, personal experiences, and preferences that make up how we perceive everything around us. They are as much a part of a person as anything else, and ignoring that puts you at risk of coming off like the douchebags we are discussing here.

    Just for the record, I have owned just about every iOS device ever made, along with 5 or 6 Android devices of different vintages and types (and rooted, unlocked, played with CMx, and whatever else. Currently own a Nexus 7), a Windows Phone, an HP Touchpad, and several different Windows Mobile, Pocket PC, Windows CE, and Palm devices before that. I also use a Windows 7 computer due to my job, instead of a Mac. In fact, I hardly even played with OS X. It feels like a foreign landscape any time I have been forced to use one. So, I come from a very eclectic tech background. I know what’s out there, first hand. I can also vouch for the fact that most of the other writers on this site are also very well versed in competing platforms.

    Now, with all that said, I know that I have personally been attacked by several Android fanboys who assume that I know nothing about technology because I prefer to own a device that isn’t bleeding edge, when in actuality, I’m a programmer who has been using mobile devices longer than many of them have been alive. I was loading custom ROMs on Windows Mobile 5 devices when many of them were in Elementary School. (Get Off My Lawn!! :) ) So, that tends to hit a nerve with me. Those of us who ARE technically inclined, and choose to use iOS for our own, very informed and thought out reasons, are often subject to a lot of “tech elitism” from Android fanboys. On several occasions, I have attempted to join in conversations at Phandroid and other sites, to actually discuss the differences between platforms and preferences. I’ve either given up or just didn’t even bother in the first place. It was nothing but the kinds of things I’m griping about here. People who consider iOS users as second-class tech citizens. Of course, it’s just the same if you go to a lot of iOS oriented sites, such as AppleInsider or iMore. That’s one of the things I LOVE about this site. We don’t tend to do the flamewar and linkbait thing. You can actually find some thought-provoking and reasoned discussion in our comments, and a lot of that is because we don’t tend to fly the fanboy flag quite so high. There is a diverse group of writers, and we aren’t forced to toe any kind of Apple line. You’ll see both glowing praises and strong critiques of Apple here.

    Now, iOS users in general may not be on the offensive like they once were, but many iOS fanboys used to be. Since iOS hit first and had the much larger user base and a higher level of polish in its early days, a lot of OG iOS folks poked a lot of fun at Android and Android users. So, it all definitely goes both ways.

    Things have definitely changed since then, though. There is a lot of cool, or general elitism that is still very much a part of the Apple culture. I guess it’s always been there. Apple fosters it and caters to it, in fact. They sell mass produced “luxury devices” that are geared toward people who want a somewhat affordable piece of status. That isn’t why I like Apple hardware and iOS, but I know that’s really who Apple is primarily aiming at. I think a lot of the users who are attracted to that kind of marketing still put off the kind of elitism that some of you are describing. It’s still there, but since Apple and the iPhone have become the “establishment” of sorts (see every damn Samsung ad made in the last two years), it isn’t as prevalent now as it once was. But it’s still out there. Trust me, I get a little of it myself occasionally because I don’t use a Mac.

    However, like I said before, if you have a tech job, write for a tech blog, or are just interested in tech, and you use iOS as your primary platform, you will get attacked for it today. It may not be from those of you in this thread, but it happens ALL THE TIME. Android has become the darling of the tech world, and especially the not so objective as they think tech press, and it really gets old hearing about everything from that viewpoint ALL THE DAMN TIME.

    I mean, I get it to an extent. I understand the attraction. I used to use Windows Mobile instead of Palm when I was a little younger, and had time on my hands, and a dropped call because the phone suddenly rebooted or a rogue process drained the battery in less than an hour wasn’t a big deal. But that isn’t for me anymore, and I know a LOT of iOS users who are programmers and IT guys who feel the same way. You know, it’s one thing to make some silly jokes at the expense of the mass consumers who really don’t know anything about technology, but it really rubs me the wrong way when someone tells me I don’t know what I’m talking about. Because I DO know what I’m talking about, thank you very much.

    So yeah. It all goes both ways. I may take an occasional jab at the Android masses in general here on the site, but I definitely try to keep it all civil and in fun. Definitely not personal. Now with Google, not quite so much. In my personal opinion, Google gets a lot of passes for a lot of things in the tech press and with their fans, because of their very smart approach and PR. I just don’t buy into all that “don’t be evil” business. I’m also wary of buying products from and giving all my info to what is primarily, a really big ad firm. I’m just not a fan in general, and I make that very clear in my writing. But, I acknowledge that I’m not objective, and I am a critic of some of what they do. I tend to point out the negative. However, that is VERY different from attacking individuals for their preferences, especially when it’s unprovoked. That’s what sucks about outright fanboyism. I don’t like being personally attacked, and I’m sure none of you do, either. It’s one thing to trade a few jokes, have a few laughs, and walk away with respect for the person in front of you, or on the other side of the screen, but unfortunately, that has become the exception in today’s world.

    It is refreshing to see the thoughtful and non-inflammatory discussion in this thread, though. And I think Joe did an excellent job in this article of discussing the issues from the iOS perspective, rather than just lobbing volleys back the other direction.

  • adi

    what can say? I’m an iOS, Android and BlackBerry user but im using my iPhone most of the time…. my reason? i just love it and i dont care whatever people would say…… it’s my choice.

  • Prime Outsourcing

    Very well said. A fair and just article about the famous rivalry in the history of mobile phones. We really can’t tell which one is the best since all the phone has its own flaws. It’s just a matter of how a buyer view things the way he wanted to. Everyone has their own perception about what’s best and what’s not.

    Thank you so much for sharing.

  • nuffz

    i agree with the auther of this article i currently own an iphone 4s and just brought and asus tablet that runs android i was going to buy the new ipad but it just seemed a bigger version of my iphone so now i have the best of both worlds. it all comes down to choice :)