I’m a Linux/Android guy historically and I have to say I really love the stance Apple takes on privacy versus Google’s more, uh, laxe privacy stance. Knowing my phone OS that I carry everywhere with me wasn’t designed by a company selling my data would be a significant plus and has had me rethinking things lately. A lot more than, say, whether I prefer the UI or customizability or the camera suite.
Yes I’m conflicted. I don’t like the tracking Google does but I do love how Android has so much more FOSS apps.
If you want Android, you could just install a degoogled Android rom on a phone that support it.
Fdroid is great.
I would switch to iphone myself if it wasn’t for sideloading, and ublock origin in Firefox.
If you can manage to use a non-Firefox browser, there are other adblocking browsers available for iOS. I use Ecosia, but Brave and even Safari support adblocking extensions now.
Firefox on iOS has an ad-blocking toggle in the setting that can be flipped on. It might even be in my default.
For particular shitty sites I use Firefox Focus. Do whatever, then tap the trash can to clean out everything. It also has a bunch of tracker blocking built it. It says so far it’s blocked over 25k trackers for me.
TIL on Firefox having an adblocker natively. May have to give it another whirl.
Firefox has an ad blocker? Ooooo that’s very enticing
As someone who works in Cybersecurity, I read a lot of security reports. I haven’t seen an iPhone be the most private/secure phone in about half a decade.
It doesn’t have to be the most secure. It just has to be secure for the majority of use cases.
Sure. I’m just saying it’s not an advantage of iOS.
You’re acting like you don’t realize that there is a difference between end user privacy, and security from targeted attacks.
I don’t really care how hard it would be for a motivated attacker to target me and breach the security of my device.
I do really care about how hard it is for every website on earth to know intimate, personal details about my life.
iOS is the only sane choice.
No. I’m very aware.
Android gives you full control over the permissions given to apps just like iOS does.
And since you can download additional browsers and browser plugins that aren’t just repackaged Safari, you can have a lot more control over your Internet privacy if you want it.
Google’s entire profit model is offering software for free so that they can gather data and sell ads.
Granular app permissions are a start, but barely. Cross-app tracking is a bigger deal, and Apple is miles ahead of Google there; and Google is never going to catch up, because it would destroy their revenue search.
I’ve used both platforms extensively, I actually love Android. Google assistant is so much better than Siri that it’s obnoxious, custom roms are a ton of fun, having a way to get root access on a device is so important it should be legally required.
But, if you think that a company that exists to build an advertising profile and sell ads will ever produce a device that meaningfully blocks the ability to build an advertising profile, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
Google restricts Cross app tracking and you can entirely disable the ad profile.
They will continue to make money off of the users who don’t care, while capturing more market from those who do.
What makes you think apple doesn’t harvest your data for pretty much the same purposes as Google?
Because apples goal is to sell you hardware. Privacy sells hardware. Googles goal is to have manufacturers use their OS for free so they can harvest and sell data, and maintain control of the mobile ad space.
I’m not saying Apple is a moral company far from it, but it has business incentive to build with privacy at the core, Google has the opposite.
The problem is Apple won’t be able to just rely on that forever. Eventually when Macbook Airs are starting at $2999 and people can’t afford their hardware, they’ll start cutting into user data more if they haven’t reached that point yet. Just because a business model supports a virtue doesn’t mean that company will always abide by their previous moral commitments. Google once said “Don’t be evil”
Yes, the THREE-trillion dollar, 50-year-old company that figuratively just prints money is going to become so desperate that they will abandon their extremely profitable business model to become… an ad agency?
The absolutely irrelevant reference to a vague PR line in Googles old corporate code of conduct was a nice touch, though
Yes, that’s what’s going to happen, but maybe not for an ads platform. Your rights are on the chopping block, but don’t worry though, because by that point you’ll be convinced that giving up your privacy and any individual thought is entirely within your self interest. Ideas like “Big company, much value, can’t possibly want more money” is pretty much halfway down the line.
Great work doing their work to convince yourself, for them.
They’re a computer company. Their primary revenue streams are from hardware, software, and services, not from selling ads.
Apple is a corporation that has no ideals or principles, by design. They only care about profit at any cost, and currently support a level of privacy they are comfortable with, because their analysts have surmised that supporting this level of privacy gives a net positive of consumer goodwill over lost ad revenue. Once it gets to a point where that inequality flips over to show a profit in selling user data, that’s exactly what they’re going to do. Sure, they’re not going to reverse directions, right away, no. They have an army of extremely well paid, entirely unscrupulous behavioural psychologists and consumer trend analysts whose job it is to convince you that you want whatever it is that the company wants.
All the corporation ass-kissing just makes me sick. It’s like being a sheep in a herd all collectively moving to the edge of a cliff with no power for any individual to change course.
Dude it’s sad how obviously desperate you are to be personally offended by apple. Nobody here is claiming that they’re a company with morals, or that they do anything out of the goodness of their heart.
Apple targets a market segment that prioritizes data privacy. They’re under a ton of scrutiny from their users, and stand to lose considerable business if they start compromising on privacy.
Likewise, they’ve been gaining more and more market share in the US, largely from people who are switching because of Apple’s stance on privacy.
The best way for them to maximize profits is for them to continue to prioritize user privacy, which is why it’s easy to believe that they’ll do so.
@Tangent5280 I hope you feel better now that you’ve got that off your chest. Maybe try taking a few deep breaths as well.
Apple also sells user data
Apple sells hardware. Google sells data.
It’s not a binary issue. Google’s entire business model is dependent on it. Apple’s is not, so they don’t do it nearly to the same extent.
That doesn’t mean we have to conclude apple is the good guy.
They can both be shitty corporations. This assignment is not graded on curve.
That doesn’t mean we have to conclude apple is the good guy.
no one said apple is “the good guy”. The only thing the top comment said is they prefer apple’s stance on privacy compared to google.
They can both be shitty corporations. This assignment is not graded on curve.
like many things in life if your options are all shitty, then you’ll probably opt for the least shitty option. So in that sense your choice between apple or google is “graded on a curve”. You’re just trying to justify a false equivalence.
Sure, but that’s not why this is happening. More likely it’s younger generations of people growing up with their friends having an iPhone and peer pressure forcing them to want one as well their parents buying them an iPhone because it’s what they know.
I don’t know about calling Google more laxe since they are actively taking your data.
A linux/apple guy lmfao
Just consider me a Unix guy. 😎
It is interesting how the US are continuing to adopt Apple/iPhone in contrast to the rest of the world. I think its one of those things where once the majority take hold it becomes set in culture which further embeds the trend.
Saying that, when looking for documented statistics, they don’t match up with the article.
https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/united-states-of-america
The source is Counterpoint Research as linked in the article - the 55% figure in the headline is misleading, the statistic is really “55% of new devices shipped”, not total market share.
Yeah iPhone people seem to upgrade about twice as often as the rest of us
got a source for that? iphones tend to last pretty long
Initially anecdotal. But also turns out to be statistically true. www.statista.com/chart/amp/3634/smartphone-upgrades/
not exactly what you said earlier. There’s only like a 10% difference in the apple/android groups. So, slightly more iPhone users upgrade every two years compared to android users.
This data is also about 8 years old but I couldn’t find any newer
Source: this guy he knew a few years ago, see also: his butt
2015 may as well be 1000BC when it comes to smart phones 🤣
Do you think its iPhone users upgrading then?
Are those the people who have apple like a 99% satisfaction rating, and gave themselves a 95% one? I think I heard of them on Linus tech tips LMAO
It is a US company, that likely helps a little. They are expensive. In many countries 55% could not afford them. Easy access to Apple stores to fix issues is a massive advantage.
Anecdotally, my friends and family that have switched have done so because of malware. Apple is far from perfect, but Google has done a terrible job of keeping bad apps out of the Play store. And malicious software has other ways of getting installed. My sister was a diehard Samsung user, but reluctantly bought an iPhone when she started getting porn pop ups and her and none of her friends could figure out how to stop them.
Sounds like a your sister thing, never got smth like that and you also wont get it without installing smth
She probably isn’t a perfect tech user, and installed an app that she shouldn’t.
But iphone users don’t usually have this problem anyway so sister still ends up benefiting from that ecosystem.
Google needs to stay more on top of the app store. It’s clear they never had the man power to actually police it well.
There are benefits to that as well, apps that enabled features that carriers didn’t want to be enabled used to be pretty popular. Not to mention the benefit of being able to side load apps if you are a power user.
It literally gives you a bright red warning full screen that you have to read and only can accept after waiting 10 seconds, shes just ignoring it, thats her problem ngl
Wait. I’ve never seen this screen? Are you saying that the play store has a bright red warning like you’ve described?
I’m talking about the play store, the official store, which has sometimes hosted adware and malware.
No, by sideloading apps
iPhones have tones of pop up in the browser also. Don’t even know how many times I get calls from my parents about some sort of pop up on their phones.
I was on android for the longest time but I got tired of Samsung’s crap, the horrible way version upgrades are handled (or not handled), etc.
Yeah, I don’t understand why Samsungs are the most popular Android phones.
Like, I get that they have good hardware, but their software is annoying as hell.
I disliked Samsung devices’ software even more than I disliked iOS. Neither of them hold a candle to the Pixel experience.
I switched from Pixel to Samsung and found it much nicer personally.
I’m about to make this jump with my next phone. I’ve had 3 different Pixels now and they’ve all had terrible battery life and honestly just seem like mediocre phones.
You think the popularity in the US is because you had a bad experience with upgrades?
No i was merely stating a few personal reasons. I’m sure there are hundreds if not thousands of factors to explain why iPhones are more popular
Surely yes. I was intrigued into the regional differences. Surely the technical differences are similar in each region, however I find it really interesting that the US is an outlier in the stats.
I feel like a factor is that in other countries people use 3rd party apps for messaging, therefore the difference between android and iMessage is less important in those countries. As a US citizen I feel like I’d miss iMessage if I bought an android phone.
That is a really good point! I read something about that in a previous article, that iMessage is heavily used throughout the US. Certainly a major factor, thanks.
As much as I like my iPhone, I hate where this is going. Monopolies are always bad for the consumers, especially with companies as focused on control as Apple.
In the rest of the world Android is more popular so that’s not a huge concern also the EU has been making Apple play nice.
Agreed. This is very bad news for consumers.
It’s always very dodgy when companies track and quote “shipped” goods. That is the manufacturers saying they have shipped their products to retailers. That does not mean customers have bought those products.
There can be many other reasons why product shipments fluctuate up and down. The trends can be useful though.
I would never go back to android. When an apple update comes out fixing issues I can get it for my phone. With android you never know if an update will reach your phone. Android is a complete shit show.
It cuts both ways. I’d never go to iOS because they prevent me from using my preferred web browser as part of vendor lock-in. Everything is heavily channelled through the Apple Store and ecosystem so they can take their cut.
It depends what is most important to you. I prefer more freedom and control over my device.
Do you mean your preferred browser, or preferred browser rendering engine? I’m fairly certain all of the major browsers are available on iOS, but they all have to use the built-in Webkit engine.
You have to use safari, unless they changed that, you aren’t allowed to change the default browser.
The default browser can definitely be changed. I’ve got mine set to Firefox.
Hasn’t been the case for a few releases of iOS.
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You can root your android device and gut almost all the Google taint. Hell, you can do a lot of that already without rooting with the f-droid marketplace and then download Karma Firewall to block any outgoing traffic for any app you choose.
I just want a phone that works, so I can live my life. I don’t want to enter into a cat and mouse game with massive company who’s financial interests are at odds with my own.
Why would you buy such a device (from an ad company) in the first place?
Because what are your options? Android or Apple. Apple’s phones are locked down pretty tightly where if you want to do anything outside of their ecosystem, you have to root it (and nullify your warranty). Android at least gives you enough access where you can counteract the vast majority–if not the entirety of Google’s tracking/spying–while also being able to work outside of Google’s app store, all without rooting your phone.
Did you ever look at Pixel phones when you were on the Android side?
I’m on a Pixel now. Going back to iOS the moment the USB-C iPhone is on sale.
Sure, .apks, custom launchers, and things like GrapheneOS are nice, but Android is a shit show. Ux is all over the place and everything lacks polish overall.
I’m gonna have to disagree on that.
iPhones don’t even have a universal back gesture. Sometimes you have to swipe a card down from the top of the screen, sometimes you have to hit a back button in the top left, sometimes you can use the back swipe gesture.
Moreover, the animations are slow, which makes the phone (depaite having an incredible processor) feel incredibly slow.
The keyboard doesn’t give you a number row and it hides the period and comma behind another layer.
LastPass integration sucks compared to Android.
The UI scaling feels like you’re using one of those remotes for old people. If I’m reading an email, content on Lemmy, my texts, etc. I can see only about 70% of the content I’d see on my Android.
You can’t even free place icons in iOS.
And don’t get me started on the notifications screen and the limitations in notification quick actions.
I tried to switch to a 14 Pro when I got my last phone, but I just couldn’t deal with how frustrating the UI was. It’s so slow and cumbersome to navigate around your phone and do stuff.
I did not have a chance to try Pixel phones.
Well your issue doesn’t exist on Pixel phones.
I would be far more supportive of Android if it didn’t feel like they were trying to recreate the closed Apple system. Android phones have spotty update releases for limited times. If I could just throw on a vanilla Android OS and still get the apps it would be cool. From what I understand, many apps and app stores in the Android ecosystem won’t allow a vanilla OS as it has to be packaged from the vendor.
