This is a scene that is repeated every September, as if it were a religious ritual in the modern era. Tim Cook takes the stage Apple Parkoffers a device that costs the same (or more) than many people’s monthly salary … The Spaniards, the next day, exhausted their reserves. But something does not add anything: if we look coldly at the specification sheet, we will immediately notice that the “gadgets” are, more or less, at the same level as mid-range Android terminals, and that they are much cheaper.
Any Google user will tell us, and rightfully so, that their €400 phone has more RAM than the newer iPhone 17. And its battery contains more mAh than Apple’s battery. It will remind you that Samsung or Xiaomi installed 200 MP cameras while Apple took years to abandon 12 cameras and just released, so to speak, 48 cameras. As if that wasn’t enough, it will also indicate that Google’s AI and OpenAI are light years away from Siri who often still has problems setting timers.
However, Apple wins. Not only that, it sweeps through the high range. Not in vain, It takes approximately 80% of the profits of the entire global mobile phone industry. How is this possible? Are we facing the biggest illusion in modern marketing or is there something the spec sheet isn’t telling us?
The answer is not simple, and requires “dissecting” the Cupertino giant on three different fronts: invisible geometry, the psychology of desire, and the “golden cage” phenomenon.
When less is more
To understand why an iPhone with 8GB of RAM performs equally well or better than an Android phone with 16GB of RAM, we must understand a fundamental difference in architecture. In the world of Android, the operating system must run on thousands of different devices, with chips from Qualcomm, MediaTek, or Exynos. It’s like trying to design a suit that fits thousands of different people.
But Apple is playing something else. They design the chip (A-series), the hardware (mobile), as well as the software (iOS). This is known as vertical integration.
This means that when Apple designs a new version of iOS, it knows exactly how many transistors the processor will power it. That is, it does not require “brute force”, but rather optimization. The vast majority of iPhone users (nearly 90%) install new versions of the operating system right away, more than twice as much as Android users, many of whose peripherals are not compatible with the latest versions of the software. In addition, memory management in iOS does not use the Java “Garbage Collection” system that Android uses, which requires a large amount of free memory to recycle data. iOS manages real-time memory locally. So, comparing gigabytes of RAM between both systems is, literally, like comparing pears to apples.
The same goes for the battery. It’s not about the size of the fuel tank (in mAh), but about how much the car is consuming. Apple processors today are the most efficient on the market per watt consumed. The result is that the iPhone can do more with less power, allowing it to fit smaller batteries but without sacrificing true autonomy.
Megapixel dictatorship
And we reach one of the crucial points, which is the photography department, where Apple is usually much higher than the others. But how can you do that, if for years Apple kept only 12-megapixel sensors while the competition inflated the numbers to the point of absurdity? One could say that in photography, pixel size and lens quality are much more important than the number of pixels.
But the real secret is not in the lens, but in the brain. Apple has turned photography into a mathematical process. When we press the shutter button, the iPhone takes not one photo, but several. It then combines the best parts of each, reduces noise, adjusts dynamic range and delivers a “perfect” image in milliseconds. And he always does this in every photo. It’s true that a high-end Android phone can take an amazing photo one time, but it can also take a mediocre photo the next shot. Not iPhones: they offer boring, but very effective, reliability: The image will come out correctly 99% of the time. For the average user, this is worth more than the 100x zoom that you will hopefully use many times in your life.
Ecosystem, “Golden Prison”
We’ve seen how technology explains performance, but there’s more. Marketing and product strategy also play a role, and explain exactly why we choose Apple, but remain attached to the brand. Apple doesn’t sell isolated products, it sells pieces of the puzzle.
We refer to the famous “ecosystem”. But let’s see. You buy an iPhone. Then you realize that your AirPods magically connect as soon as you open the box. Then you discover that you can copy text on your iPhone and instantly paste it on your Mac, or that your Apple Watch unlocks your computer without touching anything.
This synergy between devices creates tremendous resistance to change. Switching from Android to iPhone (or vice versa) is easy; You just have to follow the instructions on the device itself. But leaving Apple means losing all that “magic.” Stop using a Apple watch It’s a pain because there’s nothing in Android that offers easy integration. Apple has built a “golden cage”: it is so comfortable to be inside that even an open door does not tempt us to escape.
The “blue bubble” factor.
In addition to the above, Apple has been able to take advantage of the advantages of social psychology like no other. It is the only technology manufacturer that has managed to position itself as a “good Veblen”. That is, the demand for it increases when its price rises, because it is seen as a symbol of exclusive status.
Let’s not kid ourselves: Wear a Apple Watch Ultra Or the launch of the latest iPhone Pro Max model sends an immediate social signal of purchasing power and membership in a “specific” group. It’s the same logic that applies to luxury bags or sports cars, but in a gadget we use, and display, hundreds of times a day.
In the United States, this phenomenon reached ridiculous levels with the original iMessage application. Messages from other iPhones appear in blue bubbles; Android ones, in green bubbles. Among adolescents, the presence of the “green bubble” is a cause of social exclusion. Apple knows this, and it has defended this wall tooth and nail.
Another important psychological aspect when choosing Apple products is what is called “reducing decision fatigue.” No one realizes that the Android catalog is a jungle: hundreds of similar models, each one standing out in a certain aspect: better screen or better battery? Foldable or rigid? Better processor or better camera system? With Apple, the choice is binary: regular or Pro. For the information-saturated consumer, Apple provides a safe haven: “If I buy this, I know it will be good.” This peace of mind comes at a price, and the market has proven itself willing to pay that price.
AI: Achilles’ heel?
However, it’s not all glitter at Apple Park. Criticisms of artificial intelligence are real and justified. While Google and Microsoft are reshaping the future with generative AI, Siri still seems stuck in the past.
Apple intelligence is coming, yes, but it’s late; Until then, those in the bloc do not lose market share. Why? Here comes the Cupertino team’s final card: privacy. Their narrative is clear: “Our AI may not be the smartest, but it’s the only one that doesn’t sell your data.” And this is true. Apple processes most of its AI within the device itself, rather than in the cloud. It integrates AI functions, some of which are very exclusive, into the applications themselves. Less intelligent, but more useful and safer, artificial intelligence.
Will that be enough? This is something that remains to be seen. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that Apple is rarely the first to arrive (it didn’t invent the MP3, the smartphone, the tablet, the smartwatch, or wireless headphones). Their specialty is later or better, refining technology until it becomes invisible, easy, practical and desirable for everyone. Will the same thing happen with artificial intelligence?
In conclusion, it can be said that Apple has understood better than anyone else, that people, deep down, do not buy gigabytes of RAM, nor milliamps, nor megapixels, nor megabytes. People buy experiencesAnd making sure your phone doesn’t depreciate in value by 50% in six months (the resale value of an iPhone is unparalleled). Buy the simplicity of the technical service that is often crucial, even though it is expensive. She also purchases membership in an exclusive “tribe.”
On paper, and from a purely technological standpoint, Apple products are expensive and sometimes poorly characterized. But technology is not used on paper, it is used in real life. Here Apple has found a formula that, despite its critics, continues to work with the precision of a Swiss watch. Or rather, the Apple Watch.