SO. MUCH. THIS.
Gonna take a couple guesses here.
- Given that they’re upgrading from a 5 year old phone (that wasn’t the flagship when it was released) that’s still getting iOS updates and that no Android phone has historically had a similar guaranteed amount of support (and currently only the Pixel 8 is rumored to offer more) they might want to be able to keep their next phone for 5+ years.
- Third party iOS apps are still generally better than third party Android apps and they might value the improved experience.
- They might not want to deal with manufacturer installed bloatware.
- They might otherwise be invested in the Apple ecosystem - AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook, etc.
- They might want updates ASAP (instead of getting it months or weeks later).
- They might not want to think so hard about which Android phone to buy.
- They likely don’t value the advantages Android has over iOS (more customizable, earlier features, actual file system browsing, etc.) as highly as the advantages iOS has.
- They might not want to learn a new mobile OS, and they might value the consistency and simplicity of iOS.
- They might otherwise be invested in the Apple ecosystem - AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook, etc.
did you mean vendor-locked?
So cringey. Some people do like Apple products. Nothing beats the Mac/macbook, Apple Watch, iPad or AirPods in their respective categories. Android and iPhone are basically feature wise the same so get what you like.
But, how is it any different than being vendor locked into android with their wearables or tablets or chromebooks? Apple made an ecosystem that works well together. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Apple’s anticompetitive, vendor lock-in features would make for a long, long list. I’ll leave some sources I found quickly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendor_lock-in#Apple_Inc https://www.pcworld.com/article/520658/apple_marketing_locks_you_in.html
I’m not an android fan by any means, it’s just the better option right now. Android is free software, I’m writing from an Android phone that has software from no corporation, not even Google. Can you compile iOS from source and remove Apple’s software from it? I don’t think so.
Even without installing custom ROMs, in any Android phone you can install apps from third party stores. In iPhones you can only get them from the App Store. You want to use a browser which isn’t a Safari skin on iOS? Not possible either. There’s a long list of similar anticompetitive behavior.
