Just when everyone thought the Android vs. iPhone debate was settled once and for all, Apple's dominance is seen rising once again in the smartphone industry. And this is an interesting one. Several reports claim that the Gen Z crowd (people born after 1996) increasingly prefers iPhones over their Android counterparts, especially in the US.
According to a report from Financial Times, 34% of all iPhone users in the US belong to the Gen Z crowd, and they are part of the reason why Apple's market share zoomed from 35% in 2019 to more than 50% in 2022. And this is despite the iPhone's average price tag crossing the $1,000 mark, 3x more than the average price of Android smartphones globally.
And the phenomenon is not limited to just the US and North America. Even in Europe, 83% of Gen Z iPhone users say they want to keep using the iPhone. In comparison, less than half of young Android phone users say they want to stick with Android. In fact, many users prefer buying older iPhones over the latest top-of-the-line Android phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The primary reason why the Gen Z crowd wants to stick to iPhones is iMessage, Apple's proprietary instant messaging service that works only on Apple products. The Financial Times report goes on at length to explain how iMessage doesn't play well with Android and why it pushes Gen Z users to iPhones.
With more and more young people wanting to buy an iPhone across the world, it's possible Android smartphones could see their market share slowly but steadily declining over the coming years. Galaxy phones will probably be affected as well, but it seems Samsung is already prepared for the future, which is why it is focusing on making its foldable smartphones more and more mainstream.
Samsung's foldable phones bring freshness to the stale smartphone market
In a sea of slab phones that are increasingly looking like each other, Samsung's Galaxy Z series of foldable phones is like a breath of fresh air. Whether it's the compactness and the attractive flip phone form factor of the Galaxy Z Flips or the enhancements to productivity the Galaxy Z Fold line makes possible, Samsung's foldable phones offer something fresh and unique.
Most smartphones these days are fast enough and have decent cameras, and most essential apps and games are available on both Android and iOS. And that is increasingly leading to longer upgrade times for most consumers. Thanks to Samsung's push with foldable phones, other smartphone brands have come up with fresh design ideas. From OPPO to Vivo to Xiaomi, every major Chinese OEM has launched foldable phones with different designs and specialties. Even Apple is expected to launch a foldable iPhone in the future.
Until Android comes up with an answer to iMessage, foldable phones could end up being the ones keeping Android — and Samsung — afloat. Thankfully, Samsung has already been moving in the right direction. Its foldables, especially the Galaxy Z Flips, have seen an impressive increase in sales with each new release, and we can only expect them to get more and more popular if Samsung maintains its current course.
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