From the daily study sessions in the library to weekend events on the quad, smartphones play a vital role in connecting students across campus. Yet there is still an age-old debate between iPhone and Android loyalists, and this continues today.
For some students, like Junwon Park, a junior who uses a Samsung Galaxy, the choice is clear.
“I’ve used Samsung since I was a kid,” Junwon said. “Apple products are just too expensive, and I feel like this debate is kind of pointless. Just let us have the phones we want. They both have their pros and cons.”
Price is a significant factor when picking out a phone, regardless of which one you buy.
According to Lifewire, a tech oriented news source, “Apple positioned the iPhone as a premium device, and the price reflects that. You won’t find a new one for less than $500. Meanwhile, Android-compatible phones are available at a huge range of prices, from around $100 to 20 times that amount.”
According to their respective websites, the newest iPhone, the iPhone 16, costs $800 for its base model, whereas the newest Samsung phone, the Samsung s24, costs $850 for its base model. These base models, though have different specs; the s24 has double the storage space than the base iPhone, but iPhone has a less expensive protection plan.
Grace McCullagh, a senior from Cambridge Mass., find that iPhone offer unique benefits in her daily life.
“iPhones are simply a more user friendly and attractive type of phone, which is why people prefer them,” Grace told The Willistonian. “Especially in an age where aesthetics come before everything else.”
Grace does, however, believe that the type of phone you have doesn’t really mean anything.
“I think it is entirely unfair to judge a person solely on what type of phone they have,” she said. “Whether it is a good camera, space to store lots of files, or price, each person is looking for different qualities and there is no reason anyone should jump to conclusions.”
Junwon remarks that the companies that manufacture the phones are partly to blame for this divide.
“If anything, the competition between the two companies are making this worse. For example, apple intentionally makes iPhones not compatible with Androids.” He said. “If they somehow made the effort to coexist, [because] their customer pool will likely remain the same, I think this debate would be over.”
