Thoughts
The thing that drives me crazy about non-Apple fans, is that they INSIST that the only reason to buy an Apple product is stupidity. My whole
life I’ve been told I’m an idiot for liking Apple products because the fricking whatever hype android phone of the week is objectively better and Apple is just marketing. And there’s no ATTEMPT to understand or emphasize with me at all.
From today’s HN thread.
> This seems to somehow work on normal people
Someone else posted a video cussing out a strawmanned iPhone purchaser for 4 minutes. “Oh you used the r-slur to describe the iPhone users, argument won.”
This is a generalization because I have plenty of friends in tech that are not iPhone/Apple users because and I’m able to be friends with them because they recognize that there are some advantages to Apple products and recognize that I’m a human being capable of making and forming my own honest informed opinion.
What I’m getting at is that you don’t have to agree. You can disagree as vehemently as you want. But in repeating me as a person you have to put a tiny bit of thought into empathizing with why I might hold the position/opinion I do.
I was at a programming meetup the other weekend and an Apple user dropped some super oddly specific comment about how Apple has the best performance to energy efficiency of any desktop right now, and the windows/linux guy with his laptop brand that I’ve never heard of and his external mouse that he pulled out of his bag is like, ‘that’s not true.’ If you never let your opposition score a point that’s not a debate, that’s verbal abuse.
The iPhone user’s argument strategy, on the other hand, is digging through the entire list of iPhone features until you find one that Android doesn’t have and saying “iPhone is better because I care about this one oddly specific thing.” I’m not saying iPhone users are better at defending their phone choice. I’m saying you can’t take an argument like that head-on.
This is where the iPhone users are:
> This phone [iPhone Air] has the highest screen area to weight ratio except for the Galaxy S25 Edge.
We’re inventing metrics for second place. But the Android users refuse to give any ground whatsoever:
> And this is good or matters to customers because?
Com’n man. He’s invented a consumer who cares about second-best-screen-area-to-weight-ratio, you don’t need addition justification. “Um, actually, explain to me why second-best-screen-area-to-weight-ratio is a good thing.” The issue is that the android argument stems from 2009 when the iPhone was not popular in terms of marketshare. The Android fans are imitating an argument style that argues that Apple products shouldn’t exist, because in 2009 the Apple fans were equally annoying but they’re arguing that it makes sense for some people to buy iPhones. And the Android users who have the most market share are arguing that iPhones shouldn’t exist and Apple should go back to making computers. In 2025 that’s flipped but the Android users are still arguing iPhones shouldn’t exist, instead of arguing that only some people should use iPhones. I will concede that if you want a folding phone you should get an Android phone. If you want customizability you should get an Android phone. I want the phone with the second highest screen to weight ratio. “No you don’t you’re lying you’re a sheep you’re an Apple user you’re r***** you’re buying it for the status symbol you’re buying it for brand.” Ah you got me. But is there any reason I could give? No. There’s no reason for anyone to ever buy an iPhone unless they have mental issues.
> Lighter == better, thinner == cooler.
Okay that’s pretty simple. You can’t argue with that.
> What? absolutely not. Larger phones have the space for vapor chambers and better cooling tools. Thinner means you just get a piece of metal in direct contact with your CPU and you pray it can take out enough heat.
> that wouldn't be the first time the Apple distortion field makes people say stupid things.
Ah, you got me. It’s the Apple distortion field. I’m just not right in the head.
The thing that’s funny about the “fashion” take is that I literally don’t care about being seen with the phone. Never in my life has that been something I’ve thought about. But I think it comes from the fact that I do want the phone to look good because I’m looking at it. I’d rather get a Mac mini than a System 76 meerkat because the Mac mini looks better. But the Android fans somehow insert this idea that the only reason you would ever want something to look good is for someone else. And I understand thinking that about the actual fashion world (you’re obviously still wrong) but no one talks about getting a computer to make them look nicer. Apple nerds are still nerds.
Anyways I have a problem because I internalize all criticism even when it’s not directed at me or is inaccurate. Same programming meetup, someone laughed in my face for using Python, “try doing reproducible builds”, IT’S A WEBSITE.