I have owned couple of google phones (Nexus and Pixel). Today for the first time ever I am considering buying an iPhone. I would pay premium for privacy on Google devices if they make it available. And we now know what the price is - $40 in EU. Just sell it like this Google.
have owned couple of google phones (Nexus and Pixel). Today for the first time ever I am considering buying an iPhone
I was a BlackBerry die-hard until they switched to Android. A privacy-focused phone using a Google OS, what a joke. Switched to iPhone and it’s pretty good, only thing I miss is the real keyboard.
I have a Key2 which I bought because I like the physical keyboard, battery life, features, and physical appearance/feel, but I don't buy any of the security/privacy marketing for a second. The phone runs a boatload of services from Google and BlackBerry which I don't know what they're actually doing and you can't turn off or disable without breaking features. I operate under the assumption that Google can (and does) track what I'm doing and where I'm going, even though I've disabled as much of this tracking as the settings allow, and that BlackBerry could decrypt my "secure" file storage locker and bypass my fingerprint/PIN in an instant if they wanted/were compelled to.
I'm hovering in the same airspace (thinking about an XR), though not certain I'll go that way in the end vs buying a Pixel 2 for literally half the price once Google inevitably drops their price. Seeing a trillion-dollar company stand up for privacy, whether for altruistic reasons or not, really makes me want to support them.
Another price point: "Seeing as Google pays Apple $12bn to be the default search engine on iOS devices" divided by number of devices Google paid for.
The $40 should just be a number that would pass the lowest threshold the antitrust regulators will accept. My guess is that $40 doesn't have much to do with lost advertising revenue.
12bn divided by 1,3bn devices sold according to this [1], 2018 not included, gives roughly $10. So now we have another data point. Not sure about the contract length though.
That's also only for value they extract from being the default search engine (which probably means they are used by 95+% of users). On Android they can also count on being the default for maps, mail, browser, and app distribution (not to mention that Youtube is usually pre-installed, and that they have been forced to admit that they collect location data from Android devices even when location services are turned off). So they have the opportunity to collect vastly more data and target vastly more advertising.
