The “iPhone 16 pandemic”: Premium Android phones becoming more like Apple’s flagship – here’s why
-makers like taking inspiration from the iPhone’s super consistent design (by which that I mean “mostly repetitive and a tad boring”), it’s looking like 2024-2025 might be the tech year of the “iPhone pandemic”.
However, there are two more intriguing aspects of the race to make “Android’s iPhone – the first one is the reason… Why would Android phone-makers do that in the first place?
The second is the sheer length some phone-makers are ready to go to in order to secure a “switch” – meaning an iPhone user buying their Android phone instead of upgrading to the new iPhone.
Apart from making the Pixel look like a total iPhone twin in look and feel (save for the camera island), Google literally nailed down the weight of the Pixel 9 Pro XL to make it exactly as heavy as the iPhone 15 Pro Max – 221 grams. Yes, I do believe this was on purpose…
In fact, I’ll go a step further and guess the vanilla Pixel 9 is heavier than it could’ve been just so it feels more premium. It weighs 198 grams, or just 4g more than the rumored weight of the iPhone 16 Pro, and it also has a 6.3-inch screen. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9 Pro is virtually the same slab.
Even if it might seem like a coincidence, I believe Google is trying to pull off a clever psychological trick that gets iPhone users who hold the Pixel to think they are holding an iPhone – but with all the benefits of an Android.
Believe it or not, most users who buy Pixel phones are upgrading from an iPhone – not from a Galaxy (as one might expect). In that context, Google’s iPhone-inspired Pixel 9 makes total sense. I mean – it’s not an excuse but it is an explanation.
Like it or not, more Android phones will keep looking like the iPhone, because it’s a successful strategy – but there are unique alternatives you can buy instead
Motorola makes the most colorful phones on the market right now – in glass, plastic, wood, or leather!
More Android phones will look like an iPhone, because it’s a successful business strategy – but there are truly unique Android phones you can buy instead.
Of course, the tech nerd in me would strongly disagree, and if you fall into that bracket, there are phones you can choose instead of the “blatant iPhone copies”. You know – in case you’re in the mood for a quiet protest.
- Great examples are the metal OnePlus Nord 4 as well as Nothing’s excellent mid-range devices (the Nothing Phone 3 is also coming next summer). I mean, sure – the Nothing Phone certainly looks and feels like an iPhone, but I do believe the unique back is enough to set it apart.
- Motorola also deserves a shoutout, as it might end up being the only phone-maker (in 2025) that makes premium flagships with curved displays and super bold colors and materials – including eco leather and bamboo.
- Not to mention there are plenty of folding phones on the market nowadays, which look and feel nothing like the folding iPhone Apple hasn’t made (yet). They are more reliable than ever too.
In the end, I’m not too bothered by the iPhone-inspired designs on Android – although it makes me think about the great phones we might be missing out on, because Android phone-makers decided to go with an iPhone aesthetic.
But hey… Apparently, the iPhone’s design is “so cool” that even the new iPhone looks exactly like the old iPhone!
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