If you open the messages app and browser 50x per day (which seems like a conservative estimate) and load the maps app a few times a week, the speed differential between devices adds up. Personally, I find the annoyance factor more bothersome than the raw hours of wasted human lifetime.
Side by side, my iPhone 12 takes several seconds less to open Firefox than pixel 4. 1.5 seconds faster to open Slack. 5s faster to launch Sonos. 5s faster launching The Economist. 0.5s faster launching phone. 4s faster launching Spotify. This is with iPhone running several other apps, android idling with no background apps.
Recent phone launches look boring, but getting the basics right absolutely matters. I was hoping Tensor would bring iPhone level performance, but we may have to wait a few years, since they’re only focusing on AI, which iPhone already does quite well.
Personally, I think it is totally valid to count performance and quality as features. Imagine if instead of performance, there was a feature where the phone cut your need for sleep by 5 minutes a day, or cut 5 minutes off your commute, or dropped your cortisol levels x%. Or shortened your wait for the elevator/grocery store by 5 minutes. That’s ultimately what performance means - time saved from the pure waste of waiting for apps and content to load.
Edit: to clarify, this isn’t iPhone elitism. I absolutely believe android users deserve best in class hardware. It is a shame that the vast majority of phone users are having their time stolen from them by Android and Qualcomm. I really wish I had the option of switching to android but I’m just not willing to tolerate it anymore; I have these devices side by side because I just gave up on my post-CSAM scanning switch after two months.
