Apple Vs. Google: A Neutral Approach

In the modern world of today, we are surrounded by technology. We check our Twitter feeds on our smartphones, read the newspaper on our tablets, and get our daily dose of information on our computers. It's fantastic when done in moderation, and I can't imagine life without my iPhone by my side, ready for me to check into foursquare. I can bet that you, the reader, love technology. Everyone on the Internet does, or so I hope.

Lately, I've seen a lot of threads in which one guy says, "OMG, guiz. Apple fucking sucks. What have they ever done for the benefit of technology?" and then a response that goes like, "WTF, dude? Apple is the best! Google is the one that sucks ass." and those two comments sadden me greatly. Why are so many people this biased? Why do I find that their opinion is false? Well, I found the answer.



It seems like with the greatness of technology, that one can only enjoy a single company's products, and no one else's. Well, honestly, that's utter bullshit. Why can I only like one company? Why aren't I allowed to enjoy the products of more than one company? Is it so wrong to admit that I like the competitor's designs?

You can go onto any tech forum, and post a thread that either says, "I love Apple" or "I love Google", and the Internet will come swooping in to tell you that you're wrong, and that you should die. You'll see comments very similar to the ones that I posted above. Now, in their very basic form, those comments are merely opinions stated. But, those extremely biased opinions are clouding up the thoughts and actions of the poster. You see, both Apple AND Google are amazing companies, run by amazing people. They make wonderful products, and you know it.

For starters, Apple has made extreme innovations to the technology world. They revolutionized the computer, music, phone, and tablet industries. You cannot deny that. You know you can't. The iPhone was the first smartphone to say, "Hey, I can do more than basic web and email!". The Mac, iPod and iPad said similar things. Apple is a wonderful company, and even if you don't agree with their "patent-everything" style, you can still admit that the world would be an incredibly different place without them. And not in a good way. I'll admit that Apple should be a little less aggressive when it comes to patents, and that suing isn't everything, but I don't run the company.

A second thing about Apple that I hate hearing is that they never upgrade their products fast enough. People always say that Android phones are always more feature-packed than iPhones. But guess what? Apple does that on purpose. I hate it, but it's a brilliant move. They know that if they do upgrades in slow, yearly bits, people will be compelled to buy their latest product, because it's better than the last. Look at the iPhone 4S. I have one, and I love it, but it's not really a new phone. It's a simple spec upgrade made to the iPhone 4. But tons of people still bought it, loved it, and will upgrade to the next iPhone. Android manufacturers slam the latest stuff into their phones, which results in a lot of similar phones.



Now it's time for Google's pros and cons. I love Google. It's the search engine I use daily. It's my source for the best viral videos through YouTube. And it'll soon be my home Internet and TV provider with the newly announced Google Fiber. Have you seen Google Glass?! It's incredible!

It seems like Google does everything with the consumer in mind, and that's something that has led to their stunning success. They have an open source phone OS with limitless possibilities. That same OS, Android, will soon be powering our Ouya's, which hopes to revolutionize consoles. I feel like Google could own any market in goes into, and that's pretty awesome.

But there are a couple things about Google that piss me off. They want my information. They want to know everything about me to make my experience more "personal". Ads catered to my likes and interests, being found easier on Google+, etc. Google wants to manage our daily lives entirely, and while that's fine on paper, I find it incredibly scary knowing that they want my credit card for a NFC-based payment option is kind of scary. NFC is still new to phones, and getting into it might be easier than one thinks. Google needs to back down just a bit when it comes to my life. The only other thing I hate about Google has to do with Android. Due to the fact that there are multiple companies who make Android phones, there are obviously a lot of Android models around. You can buy the latest and greatest Android phone, but the scary thing is, you'll never know if you're going to get the latest update. People say if you always want an upgrade, buy a Galaxy Nexus. I shouldn't have to worry about getting an update, though. I should be guaranteed it. Yes, Google can't do much about it, but it still makes me mad.



I hope you can see why I love both Apple and Google now. I also hope you understand why hating on another company only because you love their competitor's stuff is stupid. And lastly, I hope you understand that both are incredibly amazing, albeit flawed, groups.

I believe that in a crazy way, Google and Apple coexist, and thrive off one another. Compare Google's tablet, the Nexus 7, with the iPad, and you'll see a lot of similar ideas, both in the hardware and software. I love that. They might not, but as a tech junkie, I do.

Thanks for reading that rant. I seriously needed to get that off my chest.