As the market leader in smartphone sales, Apple must face a lot of criticism from its competitors, tech writers, and customers on a daily basis. Just like the Royal Family faces a backlash from the media and critics but still keeps relevant, Apple faces its detractors but still remains the number one game-changer in the mobile phone industry. While the iPhone is not perfect, there is a reason people are purchasing them in massive quantities.
In an attempt to position his company and the Windows Phone platform more strategically against Apple’s marketing machine, Nokia executive Niels Munksgaard said that the iPhone was too boring and the Android was too complicated for the average user to get any redeeming use out of. According to a report on Fox Business, the executive thinks it’s a shame that the market is flooded with iPhone clones and thinks there should be more choice for consumers.
While Munksgaard is in charge of product marketing and sales for Nokia and just trying to differentiate his product, he has a point. The late Steve Jobs claimed that Google ripped off the iPhone design and a whole slew of Android phones are crowding shelf space in most retailers. The lack of originality may hamper creativity, but consumers have grown used to a certain style.
Another setback for the iPhone’s status as a boring product is that it hasn’t had much in terms of updates over the past several years. While there was much speculation about the new specs of an iPhone 5, the company failed to deliver the product and instead released the iPhone 4s. While the 4s had major technical improvements over its predecessors, the screen size stayed the same and the basic operating system didn’t change at all.
According to an article on Forbes, Apple wanted to release a new version of their iPhone, but felt the time was not right and the technology wasn’t up to standards. The lack of a 4G network, large screen, and quad core processor may hurt Apple’s reputation for now, but when the iPhone 5 is released, it will be a monumental occasion.
Apple has a tight grip over developers and the apps available on the App Store. Android’s biggest selling point is its open sourced development and ability to gain access to virtually any program anyone in the world decides to develop. With all of the freedom afforded to Android developers and the massive amount of people using the platform, iOS is still the number one development standard for those looking to create apps.
While Android has open development, its Market is filled with programs that contain viruses and malware that can destroy phones. The only way to break the iPhone’s warranty is by jailbreaking it. This proves that the iPhone is the safest and easiest to use smartphone model currently on the market. While it may not have the most thrills and frills, it is reliable and works if you use it properly.