There's almost nothing you can do on an iPhone that you can't on an Android. Conversely, there are plenty of things that the more open Android platform allows that iOS doesn't.
And yet, despite all of that, some people still prefer to buy iPhones. I think it's their choice to make.
I switched because the iPhone does what I need it to do, and then gets out of the way. It works as I need it to with my Mac, and is for the most part intuitive and well thought out. I would prefer it if I could install what I wanted from where I wanted, but it's a price I'm willing to pay. And no, allowing me to do so would not undermine any of the value I've pointed out.
I bought an iPhone _despite_ the restrictions, not because of them.
That’s a hard claim to make. The “just works”, “gets out of your way”, nature is very much helped by a closed and restrictive ecosystem.
People said the exact same thing for decades for why they preferred Macs over Windows.
The Mac was an extremely open ecosystem.
That did not stop it from “just work”ing or “getting out of your way”.
Compared to iOS, the Mac is a complete mess, just ask any non technical user.
There's a reason why AppStores are a huge success in the mobile world and why few people dared to install anything on PCs and Macs.
1. This is false. There are plenty of features and apps (including my own apps!) that are exclusive to iPhone. iMessage and iCloud for example.
2. Products are not simply lists of features. There's also something important called design.
3. Don't forget vendor hardware support, software support, and resale value.
I can say, from a personal perspective, that I didn't buy an iPhone because it's vendor locked. I bought an iPhone because I'm a Mac user and developer, so I was already in the Apple ecosystem.
I suspect that there are a lot of people who buy an iPhone simply because their family and/or friends have iPhones already.
Essencial apps were made for Windows only back in 95-2005. Your only choice was emulation and there were no alternatives. It’s a completely different picture today.
2 and 3 are not relevant to monopoly claims.
So? The alternatives to iMessage and iCloud are different from them in a number of ways, just like iOS and Android are different in a number of ways. They're not identical alternatives.
> 2 and 3 are not relevant to monopoly claims.
We're not discussing monopoly claims. We're discussing why people buy iPhones.
Alternatives are not identical, by definition.
You see, in 95-2005 you couldn't compute without Windows. The vast majority of services not only assumed but relied upon you having Windows installed. There were no alternatives. Full stop. It's a completely different situation today.
> We're not discussing monopoly claims.
I am, and so is EU.
> We're discussing why people buy iPhones.
And why they are making a conscious choice, not being hostage by a monopoly.
Even with the insane idiotic second hand Apple device prices, the refurbish shops are still going broke every time they show up, so I doubt it as good as people say.
IOW, is there any evidence that if the apps that are currently unavailable on iOS became available on iOS, iPhone sales would drop?
To my surprise, many people had a similar questioning like you did in this thread, so it's probably not as obvious as I imagined.
