Confession: I own an Android.

Most people wouldn't care, but my generation does.

I live in Silicon Valley and I’m 17. Most of my fellow students I went to high-school with were “well-off”. Meaning they owned a nice house, had two cars, a dog, and money to spend outside on a Friday night. This also meant they could afford a $1,000+ iPhone.

Apple has done an incredible job of becoming “cool” in the eyes of teenagers. Owning an Apple device at my age isn’t necessarily a flex. But walking around while using an Android is seen as lowly.

“AirDrop me a picture of the homework” or “Ft (FaceTime) later” are common expressions in a hallway. Owning an Andoird, makes you feel left out. Which is exactly Apple’s goal.

I left something out of my confession earlier. I own an Android, but it costs the same as the latest iPhone. So why isn’t it cool then?

The answer is, it is cool but just not to a certain audience. The more tech-oriented of us understand things like RAM, screen resolution, battery specs, and processors. A lot of things unconsciously play a role in determining what non-tech savvy people want.

Just look at an Apple store. It looks amazing. Now, look at a Samsung pop-up at Best Buy, yeah, not as dope.

When people see Android they often think of phones from an older era. The open-source goodness of Android means that companies that are not mainstream use it as their primary OS. This causes a lot of people to associate a cheap design with Android.

However, things are changing.

I’m sorry but Apple is losing its coolness, and my friends agree.

Apple has turned into a capitalistic hog with fewer ground-breaking innovations. Adding software to slow down your phone, expensive repair costs caused by an end-to-end system, and poor functionality are just some of the reasons Apple is losing its market share in teens.

Removing the headphone jack may be old news now, but it pissed off a lot of teenagers.

My headphone jack has disappeared, so sometimes I want to watch Netflix or listen to music and charge my phone and I can’t do it anymore. Unless I buy their $200 headphones. And they just try and change things because of “courage.”
- Daniela Sarantis, 13
I think that they’re not a very honest company.
- Stefania Sarantis, 17
They’re trying to be too innovative and it’s just making the products annoying and less accessible.
- Sebastian Baker, 16

In the last year, I’ve seen more kids walking around with Samsung, Nokia, and OnePlus phones than ever. Apple is becoming less of a phenomenon. It’s just another company on a list who loves money.

All the sly tactics like using blue chat bubbles when texting an Apple user versus the green chat bubbles when texting an Android user are nothing more than mind games.

In recent times Apple has tried too hard to please stock-holders and developers, but not the everyday fella. While all the technical innovations are impressive to an extent, if people can’t use an Apple device without feeling robbed, the company has failed.

Substituting crummy hardware for good looks is not wise, and people are noticing.

Stay safe!

Originally published on medium.