(unpaywalled version on archive.today: https://archive.ph/03cwZ)
Interesting figure that comes out of the article: 87% of US teens prefer iPhones. Also the explanations given aren’t quite surprising, I guess it’s mostly because of iMessage. Teens will feel like outcasts if they get an Android phone while their friends still use iMessage because of the green bubbles.
It’s actually hilarious how we allowed consumerism to take us this far and that we have now peer pressure over smartphones.
“You’re telling me in 2023, you still have a ’Droid? […] You gotta be at least 50 years old.”
ouch 😔
deleted by creator
It absolutely does matter because for the vast majority of people, the only UI they like using is the one they are used to. So if 87% of teens use iphones as teens, they will do so as adults. This is a huge marketing win for apple.
deleted by creator
That analogy would work if toys were ultimately targeted to adults which they are not. A smartphone on the other had is targeted towards adults thus getting a child or teen to have brand loyalty at an early age would ultimately convert to sales as an adult.
But the parents who buy teenagers’ phones do.
Parents can make informed decisions based on pros and cons, or cost vs value. And they can teach their kid how to do it as well, so they have a skill for later in life when it’ll be necessary.
Or they can buy the more expensive thing just so the kid shuts up, I guess that’s also an option when parenting is too hard.