I would agree that the software it runs is barely different to the software the original iPhone ran, save for a few stolen features from Android and that iOS users are now allowed to have their own wallpapers.

I wouldn't say the same about the hardware however, even if it is still lacklustre compared to its competitors.

I've used iOS 3,4,5 and now 6. Maybe the changes have not been as radical as those on android, but there have been changes.

How radically different is Android since it launched?

And how much of that is down v1 of Android being less finished than v1 of iOS?

I think it does:

"Can you tell how well a company or an operating system is doing solely by measuring its market share?
No, of course not.

Market Share Alone
Question: Company A has 25% market share. Company Z has 75% market share. Which company is doing better?
Answer: With market share alone, there’s simply no way to know or tell. Company A might be bringing in all the profits and company Z might be going bankrupt."

I even reworded that part in my earlier post, but for some reason you chose to ignore / snip that part.

The part which illustrates the entire argument.

Still, I'm sure you had your reasons.

I think this claim that iOS has stood still and android has made massive steps forward is based on how bad android was up until gingerbread and not the apparent approach of trying to do the same function in numerous different ways being labeled as 'choice'. There appears to be no design concept to android which seems to suit some.

I've said it several times, I use android on a phone and iOS on an iPad and I would love someone to tell me the massive steps android have made because I just don't see it.

I do like the idea of widgets, but even that seem to come down to a weather app and news feed on the home screen.

You can quote selective text or that absurd article all you like it won't or doesn't change the reality. Taking a snap shot of the current market position as an indication of everything being rosy in the apple garden is simply ludicrous.

Apple market share and profits since around the 4s launch have been not as expected solely due to the success of android and samsung. Are apple going bust no, are they selling phones yes, are there worrying trends for apple and its investors yes.

It is as simple as that and that article you keep quoting does nothing to address any of that and simply quotes things presently ignoring the past and the future, even someone so notoriously blind as you can see that yes?

Apologies - ignore my previous reply. Had a dyslexic moment and read "doesn't just" as "just doesn't".

I think it's argument about only looking at market share makes perfect sense.

It doesn't really argue that everything will be rosy even with low market share.

It just argues that market share alone won't tell you the whole story.

Obviously you could have low market share and low profits.

I disagree that the fair profit thing is pointless. It seems a perfectly reasonable way of measuring a company's health by taking into account both market share and profits.

I realise you want to think that I think that because it might be favourable to Apple, but really it's just because its common sense.

I'm not trying to suggest everything is rosy.

I'm suggesting that reports of Apple being in the crapper are exaggerated and premature.

Although its difficult to argue that a company making $40bn + a year isn't reasonably rosy.

There may well come a tipping point where Apple may well slide into serious decline. I just don't think they're as close to that point as some seem keen to suggest.

No I disagree. They are targeting different markets.
Apple = lifestyle, upmarket.
Samsung = mainstream

I'm a Mac user with a Samsung phone and I don't see the problem here. Why are these petty squabbles still going on? They're two different phones running two different OSes made by two different companies. End of story :yawn: And how can you make smartphones look any different? One black slab looks the same as another and they have to because of the touchscreen.

Seeing as you often go on and on about Macs and 'Duplo' Windows 8 I thought you would undertstand these kinds of 'discussions'

Hmmm.

I probably do but I think these petty squabbles should come to an end. They're getting a bit long in the tooth now :yawn:

So is Mac vs Windows but you continually bring that up.

Yeah ok

I would disagree with that completely now.

Apple = Used to be lifestyle, upmarket. Some users like to still think they are upmarket and a lifestyle choice. But since every man and his dog has had an iphone at some point, even kids have them now, they are now simply mainstream.

Samsung = Mainstream.

Yes, their motto used to be 'Think different' but that does not work when everybody has it. But they may get there again, eventually

I think you are right. My OH had the first Android phone and it was awful. At that time I was using the iPhone 3G which was much better in every aspect. That first version of Android was so bad that I didn't even look at another android phone until last year. ios works so well so I think that the changes are just minor improvements, whereas even up until jelly bean they were still trying to fix things such as fluidity with project Butter. This is something Apple have had since day one.

There was no real competition for Apple for years. I myself had tried HTC Desire that everybody was singing odes to and bounced right back It's probably better now. Apple needs to bring something exciting that puts them ahead of others again to stop the trend. Revamping of the iOS UI is a start. Having the same old UI stare back at you for years can be boring.

I have to agree with Kidspud. I have an iP5 and an HTC One. I am currently using the One as my primary phone, but that is not because Android is my choice of O/S, it's because of the big screen, NFC and the Swype keyboard. Yes, there are features of Android I like (such as the keyboard) but generally it feels a hotch potch of features thrown randomly together compared with IOS. Also I experience a lot more laggy behaviour with the One than the iP5.

A lot will agree that Android up until gingerbread wasnt visually very inspiring which is why so many companies relied on their skins to make it 'prettier'.

With Honeycomb, ICS and Jellybean the need for skins for visual reasons has lessened (IMHO).

For this very reason I would say that Android has progressed at a much faster rate than iOS over recent years. Initially this was for it to catch up with iOS. Functionally it reached that point some time ago. Since then the features have been added to initially tempt users away from Apple and then to prevent them from being tempted back.

Android does have more features than iOS.
Android has progressed more in recent years (as it has needed to).

Whether either of the above are important to you only you can answer.

It will often feel like a 'hotch potch' (a much underused phrase these days ) as it simply has more features. With anything that has lots of options and settings some will find it complex whereas others will find it intuitive.

Apple have gone for the 'keep it simple' approach and this still sells them millions of units.
Android has gone for the feature-rich approach which also sells them millions of units.

Both approaches are obviously very popular with some people.