Considering the war of words that broke out after Instagram was made available to Android users, perhaps Samsung is onto something. Is it a sense of insecurity that goes with owning Apple products, or are people really that butthurt over an “iPhone-only” photography app crossing over to another platform?
Again, when you look at the complaints that followed, Samsung may have nailed it down with their latest teaser commercial for the upcoming Galaxy S3. An aside first, however: Since when do tech toys get “teaser trailers?” To which Samsung apparently answered, “when we feel like calling out iPhone users in a very noticeable way.” And that’s just what they did:
In case you missed it, the text says, “With technology that fits in this easily, you can now stand out from… everyone else.” The “everyone else” is punctuated by a shot of a herd of sheep. All things considered, it’s surprising these sheep didn’t have apples in their mouths. Motivated by the Apple lawsuits (which were countersued by Samsung), it’s clear the Galaxy manufacturer is pulling no punches in relation to how they view the iPhone and its army of users.
The question is, is that a fair assessment of the average iPhone user? No, not really. There are tons of iPhone owners who didn’t complain about Instagram or, well, anything having to do with Android. They, like other rational folks, enjoy their product while acknowledging other people are free to do the same, regardless of what platform they prefer. This portion or users, however, isn’t as outspoken as the vocal minority, a group of people who allow themselves to be defined by the tech toys they own.
These are the types of folks who perpetuate the “Android users are too poor for iPhones” and the “iPhone users are a bunch of sycophantic followers who like shiny products” myths that populate almost every “iPhone versus Android” discussion. The thing is, the anti-Android/anti-iPhone snarkiness is not limited to consumers anymore.
Take Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller, for instance. Schiller left Instagram because once Android users got ahold of it, the app, in his mind, “jumped the shark,” and now, we have Samsung firing a sheep-filled volley at Apple. Can’t we all–“we” as in the tech giants–just get along? Or would that be too boring?