Real question. I would like to know what drives you to hate Apple? (In terms of privacy of course because in terms of price it’s another story).
Few reasons, first is this:
Show. Seems like as long as something has a clean interface, or it looks shiny enough, then all its privacy faults are overlooked.
Apple also seems to intentionally cultivate and sell their products as privacy-friendly, which is clearly not the case (see image above).
2nd reason is that I had an iphone 2g (one of the first models, I forget which one), and it had bluetooth support. An iOS update broke it, and when I reached out to apple, they lied to me and told me my device had no bluetooth module at all. They're one of the worst offenders of planned obsolescence, and have become one of the richest companies on the planet because of it.
3rd reason: they sell overpriced products to mainly to high-income imperial-core consumers, selling an image of "upper-class professional". Look at a graph of iOS market share worldwide, vs its market share in the richest countries. Apple didn't even bother to condescend to make affordable products for the global south.
The markup on iphones is something outrageous, like 40% of the purchase price is going to the shareholders of apple, not the workers who built the phones. By buying apple, you are mainly supporting these wealthy parasites. Its also why other smartphone brands have higher performance at half the cost of iphones. They really bank on the fact that they're selling an upper-class identity, and less of a phone.
4th reason: Their ecosystem is locked down in such a way as to make it difficult for open source development. iirc apple won't even let you use the GPL for any app on their app store.
Wow, this is the most complete answer I have ever seen. But is it wrong if I stay at Apple? Are there any competitors on the Android side that are worth it (I am thinking in particular of a pixel on which GrapheneOS is installed)?
I don't think it's wrong to stay with apple, you could always just go with something else for your next phone, although if you are concerned enough about the privacy aspect, you could always sell your phone, and get some advice about which are the best smartphone models to run the privacy-focused android variants.
Some of them list the devices they work on, like lineageOS.
There's ppl here a lot more knowledgeable than I am here that could help you choose one.
I was thinking about Nothing Phone 2. Does the brand give off a good image in terms of privacy?
I wonder if younger millennials' and Gen z's overwhelming preference for iPhones over Androids is indicative anything in the future
Only in imperial-core countries, most Gen Z's worldwide don't use apple products.
apple products are coveted both in and out of imperial core; whether or not they can afford them.
my point is that the most well educated and leftist leaning generations we've ever had (i'm assuming) continues to place a premium on products like these and that makes the eventuality of breaking out of this imperialist cycle seem unrealistic.
They've redefined privacy to be privacy from everyone except themselves, and then indoctrinated people that they are the most privacy conscious company.
iPhone user here, that is...
...quite accurate actually.
I have used Android and even tried to switch to Android a few years ago, but whenever I use Android, I can't shake the feeling that uncle Google watches whatever I do, I don't get the same feeling when I use iOS.
Weather either feeling is accurate I can't say, but I hesitate to trust an ad compny's OS over a computer company's OS.
Again, that is just a feeling, I make no claim wither way which is factually better.
iPhones tend to send close to the same types of info back home. When started, idle, inserting a SIM, on the settings screen, even when not logged in. Like, its very similar even when you look at comprehensive lists which a lot of people either don't know or ignore. I'm not saying that there aren't specific benefits or reasons to feel more comfortable with Apple. But saying its because they intrinsically are more private, I feel like that's a bridge too far
I don't like closed systems, vendor lock-in, overpriced tools, or buying equipment that I'll never truly own.
- They have their own closed eco system
- They think money is key and throw large amounts at their consumers
- All source code is closed
- They are based in USA
- They love AI
Like what another person said, hate is a strong word. But when it comes to Big Tech, I'm all for the word.
Might have missed adding something to the list. Will add more if I have.
- Worst relation price - performance, you pay design not features
- Apple is own by Apple, never by the user
- Not share-friendly with other phones or systems; you are locked within the Apple world, you can't even download a simple mp3 without installing first the iTunes app.
- Almost not repairable
- It's the closest of all closed source, hermetic against all out of the Apple ecosystem.
- Not more private than other
- Closed software (and hardware if we count in house arm chips?) ecosystem is bad for security and privacy
- Apple is subject to ancap US corporate law, which means they can realistically do whatever they want with your data (and it would be a bad business decision not to) with no real punishments/business expenses if they're caught
- Large number of users increases interest for state backdoors
- *BSD has mostly the same userland, is totally free, and open source
It boils down to two broad categories for me:
- How locked down the OS is on iPhones and iPads. We've seen recent progress (Safari extensions, retro console emulators), but we're still far from a serious OS. iOS still lacks a proper file management system (especially for playing back local audio) and no side-loading is still a deal breaker.
- Obscene markups for easily accessible parts. Apple still believes 8GB RAM is worth $200, and they believe 1TB storage is worth $800. I'd rather just get something with replaceable RAM and storage.
Overpriced, locked down hardware, walled garden software, and a snobbish userbase. I simplify it all down to "I'm not paying 500 more dollars for a logo."
They're more secure (albeit in many wsys security through obscurity) than private, although the privacy aspect is probably among the best you can get by default as far as I can tell. On the other hand, if you're willing to do some relatively simple steps and buy specific hardware, you can achieve better privacy and security on both mobile (graphene) and desktop (qubes) devices.
I personally dislike them for building unrepareable crap, tho.
Mostly their marketing practices. They are designed well but mostly designed to keep you locked in one way or another.
For me, their desktop is not as intuitive as people make it seem and lacks simple shortcuts that most other desktops have.
On mobile, its the restriction of customization and options. They are getting better at customizing but still limit you on options for anything outside of their apps. They claim to be private but follow similar practices as other companies, just in a more quite way with better PR.
they make bad products that are media darlings because it's fashion more than anything. they're treated like consumer advocates but they are one of the absolute worst companies for vendor lock-in, and are absolutely anti-consumer, but will have innumerable articles written about how they're "the best" for any given measure. it drives me nuts how the public perception of them is the complete opposite of what they actually are, and i don't get it.
also their software is bad. all due credit their hardware impressed but it doesn't matter if the software is crap.
and they aren't private: they've got all your data but have somehow convinced everyone that it's fine that they have it because they're somehow better than every other large tech company.
In terms of privacy of course because in terms of price it’s another story
Top comment:
price
Also none of the comments even bother addressing the actual question.
