iPhone Owners Love Superman and Sushi; Android Fans Dig Batman and Booze
It’s a religious war that’s been raging across the Internet for nearly a decade. iPhone owners would never allow their manicured fingers to be sullied by an Android touchscreen. Fans of Android phones sneer at Apple snobs, declaring their loyalty to all things Google.
The truth? Android and iOS users have a lot more in common with each other than either group would like to admit.
Earlier this month, Yahoo Research surveyed 1,000 smartphone owners on a wide range of topics.* Half of the respondents said they used iOS devices, the other half Android. Here’s what we found out about them, beyond their preferences in smartphones.
(Are these numbers definitive? Of course not. With a margin of error of roughly 4.5 percent, some of the differences we noticed could probably sway either way. Our research department warned us not to go there. We went anyway.)
Demographically, the Apple owners in our survey self-reported to be better educated and to make more money. The Androidistas tended to be slightly older and more likely to live in the Midwest or the East. Politically, they’re more or less identical.
But beyond those superficialities, we found some fascinating (if slight) differences.
Pet pals
If they had to pick just one furry companion to spend the rest of their lives with, 62 percent of iPhoners would choose cuddly puppies; 56 percent of Androids said the same. One out of three Google-users would go for adorable kittens, but only 25 percent of Appletons.
(Photos: Mathais Erhart and Lonny Paul via Flickr)
Music
If stranded on a desert island with only one type of music to listen to, more than half of all smartphone owners would choose rock ‘n’ roll while they waited to be rescued. (How they’d reach a viable music-streaming service out there in the middle of the ocean is another matter.) But Apple fans are slightly more inclined to listen to classical (16 percent to 13 percent), while their counterparts lean more toward hip-hop (13 percent to 8 percent).
Ringtones
When forced to pick one anthemic ringtone, Android fans preferred Steppenwolf’s 1960s classic “Born to Be Wild” (35 percent, compared to 32 percent of Apple-eaters). More Appleheads (39 percent) opted for Bruce Springsteen’s ‘80s nugget “Born in the USA.” Only one in six smartphone users chose Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” or the Boss’s “Born to Run.”
Love early ‘80s Springsteen? You probably own an iPhone (Photo: ABC News/Yahoo).
Cars
Given a choice between four different sets of wheels, four in ten iPhone owners would opt for a chauffeur-driven town car, while only a third of Android users would do the same. Those town cars would then be driven off the road by the 25 percent of Android owners who’d prefer a Ford 150 pickup (versus 19 percent of iPhonies). Only 9 percent of owners in either group would choose to ride a Harley, and just 6 percent opt for the more ecologically correct bicycle. So much for green tech.
Fast food
One thing both groups have in common: a love of pizza. Given a choice of foods, more than half could really go for a big sloppy wedge brimming with pepperoni. Slightly more than a third of each group would opt for Chinese. By a thinly sliced margin — 12 percent to 9 percent — Apple users are bigger fans of sushi. See? They really are effete snobs.
If sushi leaves you cold, you are slightly more likely to own an Android phone (Photo: Ranaberden via Flickr).
Junk food
Here’s something else both camps agree on: Nacho Cheese Doritos are indeed a mouthful of awesome (29 percent), but still not quite as deliciously sinful as Double-Stuff Oreo cookies (33 percent). Only 15 percent in either crowd would be willing to battle zombies for just one more package of Twinkies.
Liquid refreshment
Nearly 30 percent of both iPhone and Android owners prefer a cool frosty beer at the end of a long hard day. But 13 percent of Apple users chose white wine (vs 9 percent of Fandroids), and 36 percent of Googlers want their drinks shaken not stirred; only 31 percent of the Appletinis opted for cocktails.
Sci-fi fandom
Exactly half of those surveyed declared Star Wars the greatest sci-fi movie series of all time, with Star Trek a distant second at 20 percent. Here, though, slightly more Apple fans chose Wars, and a shade more Googleheads picked Trek.
(Photos: Daystrom Institute, SciFi Stack Exchange)
Sports
Here, Apple and Android fans have little to bicker over. If they had to pick one sport to play or watch, roughly 40 percent would chose football (with slightly more Androiders saying Yes to that one), while about 20 percent opted for baseball (marginally more in the Apple crew). Less than 1 in 10 from either group picked Quidditch. Patronus pigskinus!
Superheroes
If they had just one cape to wear, smartphone users overall would pick Superman’s (37 percent overall) over Batman’s (25 percent). iPhone users gave a slight edge to the Man of Steel, while Androids leaned more strongly in favor of the Dark Knight. Still, fully 26 percent of either crowd would rather be Wonder Woman.
(Photos: Hero Wikia)
As for how they would deploy their superpowers, more Apple fans than Googlers chose to stop crime (45 to 37 percent); the latter had a stronger propensity towards taking out evil dictators (22 to 17 percent). But when given the option to be selfish, 35 percent of both crowds said they would exercise their powers to ensure wealth, happiness, and success for themselves and their loved ones.
Still, that means two-thirds of smartphone users — Apple and Google alike — would still choose to use their powers for good.
See? We can all get along after all.
* Source: Yahoo Tech/Vision Critical Survey. Sample Size: n=1001 iPhone & Android Smartphone Owners. Note: Few differences listed here are significant at a 95% confidence level, but when we’re talking superhero powers, puppies and Doritos, does it really matter?
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