A look at mobile industry leaders through a familiar analogy

Oct 11, 2016 18:03 GMT  ·  By

I am friends with two immensely different couples, and I'm sure that many of you know at least someone who is in a similar situation. You see, these two pairs of lovers are so divergent that you wouldn't believe, yet everybody observes a surprisingly similar amount of love and understanding between each of them.

Diego and Sofia are both from Barcelona, and their relationship couldn't be more electric if it tried. You could probably power a Tesla coil with the tension that exists between these two at any given moment.

The funny thing is that, despite all their daily squabbles and shouting matches, they're probably the definition of lovebirds. They got engaged in 2008, and they had a Dreamy wedding on October 22 that year. And through their eight-year marriage, their relationship has almost always been the same. If they look like they love and caress each other now, they'll be fighting in about 5 minutes, after which you'll probably find them snuggled on the couch with some Netflix and chill.

Sofia can probably find a counterpoint to whatever Diego says or does, but that is probably what makes their relationship so spicy. It's never boring in their household. Diego is always surprised to see her try on a whole new hairstyle on an almost weekly basis, and Sofia's wardrobe is always colorful and trendy.    I'm willing to bet that everything that's going on between them has a connection with their Spanish ethnicity and/or ancestry.

The other couple I was talking about in the beginning is British. Henry and Elizabeth aren't royalty, but they sure do act like they're related to the Queen. They almost never fight, and they're always dressed like they're going to the opera, even when sitting around the house.

The British accents probably have something to do with it as well, but they sometimes seem so uptight that their marriage looks more like a commercial contract than a love story.

For example, Elizabeth's cooking is top notch, and Henry's home-cooked meals are always delivered at the same hour everyday. The two always have a full English breakfast at 9:41 AM, for some odd reason. When they got hitched in 2007, they were having breakfast at 9:42 AM, apparently, but a baby came along the way in 2010, and they decided that they should have their morning tea a minute sooner. This is how programmed their relationship is, especially since they microwave almost everything.

From afar, they look like the perfect couple, yet one that doesn't really care for trivial things such as fun, or passion, for that matter. Their everyday schedules are almost the same, just like their gray and mostly unisex wardrobe.

Sometimes, about once every couple of years, Elizabeth surprises Henry by doing a “courageous” act, like deciding that her beautiful curly hair is too old-fashioned, so she begins straightening it forever.

In case my subtleness is a bit too… well, subtle, I'm not actually talking about two real human couples, but about our relationship with two different mobile operating systems, neither of which is the definition of perfection.

Android first appeared on the HTC Dream, on October 22, 2008, and has since evolved following a sine wave that has managed to create its fair share of lovers and haters. Apple's iOS is like an actor that never ages and always plays the same kind of parts in every movie, whether we're talking about a comedy or a drama.

Despite all the drawbacks that come with it, Android phones are highly customizable, and you will never see two of them alike since Samsung, HTC, LG, Huawei and Co. always bring their own touches to the stock operating system. The iPhone, on the other hand, is nearly perfect when it comes to stability, but if you want a more personal experience with it, then you're out of luck.

You don't like the camera app on your Android phone because it's too buggy? Go ahead and install another one. iPhone users are more than happy with what Apple thinks it's best for them, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sure, iOS has been looking almost identical since 2013, and you can't customize its visuals any more than you can have a completely stable Android all the time, but that is fine as well.

Whatever floats your boat, keep it close. I'm pretty sure that Henry is more than happy with his boring and repetitive but faithful #Elizabeth, while Diego is always looking forward to the next household adventure involving Sofia, whether it's her giving him a black eye or they're playing hide and seek naked around the house.

Without trying to quote Michael Bolton, that's what love is all about.