It’s easy to say that Apple fans suffer from blind loyalty, especially when they admit to sticking with Apple even though they think another product is actually better in many critical ways. Nonetheless, Mark Spoonauer of Tom’s Hardware makes some very interesting points in an essay about why he won’t dump the iPhone 6 for the Galaxy S6 even though objectively he thinks the S6 is a better piece of hardware. It basically boils down to this: Apple’s app ecosystem simply can’t be beat by any Android phone.
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“During my review of the Galaxy S6 Edge, I came across all sorts of awesome apps that are also on the iPhone, including the addictive Storm Blade game,” he writes. “However, time and time again developers choose iOS as their launch platform for the hottest new apps. The most recent examples are Twitter live-streaming apps Meerkat and Periscope, but there are lots of others. The sadistically difficult Mr. Jump game racked up 5 million downloads in four days, and you can’t get it on Android. Instagram’s Hyperlapse and Layout apps? iPhone first.”
A lot of this is due to the fact that Apple fans are simply much more likely to pay for mobile apps than Android users. Thus, developers will make sure to bring their apps to iOS first because that’s the most likely way they’ll get paid for their work.
The other issue Spoonauer has is he feels very locked into Apple’s overall ecosystem at this point since he’s also a Mac user. This is something that Android users encounter when they contemplate switching platforms as well — their Android devices have been tailored to their needs through the years and it’s tough to replicate that experience when moving to a completely new ecosystem.
The whole essay is worth reading and can be found here.
