Your Next Phone Should run iOS

Smartphone ownership is an inexorable part of modern life. Indeed, an unexpected side effect of in-person college during the pandemic is that students are tied more closely to their phones than ever. Want to get a COVID test? You need a phone. How about checking in to Sharples? Better have your phone. Want to work out at the Matchbox? That’s right, you guessed it — phone! 

Ugh.

Reader, let me level with you for a moment. I, like the rest of you, am addicted to my phone. I use my phone for entertainment, navigation, communication, as the second token in two-factor authentication, and —  especially in these “unprecedented times” — it’s how I stay connected with my friends and family. Never mind the fact that developers design their applications to make you addicted to your phone through fun psychological tricks such as bright, colorful apps, and implementing feeds with endless scroll. 

Since the smartphone plays such an integral role in daily life, I think that one should put a decent amount of thought into which one to buy. Now that doesn’t mean that I am advocating for everyone to buy the latest and greatest in phone technology. In fact, after the untimely demise of my previous phone — curse the tiny desks in SCI 183! — I balked at the ~$1,000 price tag of so-called “Flagship phones” such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or iPhone 12 Pro and went with a $180 LG phone because it was cheap, kinda waterproof, and functional. All in all, I was happy with my purchase: I could DUO authenticate, text my friends, watch videos, and listen to music — all for the low low cost of not one eighth of Swarthmore’s semesterly room and board.  

There has been a recent seismic shift in the smartphone market, however, that makes pondering which phone to purchase irrelevant. It’s neither a fancy new camera nor the reintroduction of the 2.5mm headphone jack (should we be so lucky). It’s actually the manifestation of Apple’s previously announced policy change that is (seemingly) putting user privacy front and center. Apple’s brand new iOS 14.5 update puts the user’s ability to opt out of ad tracking in the spotlight. It is true that users have been able to opt out of ad tracking before, but it was buried within the semi-labyrinthian settings menu, making it virtually inaccessible to all but the most determined user. Now, each app must prompt the user to choose if they want to opt in or out of ad tracking. 

I cannot understate how important of a change this is. We’re all dimly aware that every click and swipe is tracked, aggregated, and packaged nicely for sale to data brokers. Indeed, these datasets are the lifeblood of the digital ecosystem used chiefly to sell you ads. Purveyors of this user data will tell you not to worry, as the data is anonymized. While there is a kernel of truth in this statement, by and large it is laughably false. In fact, you can get a feel for how likely you could be identified in an anonymized data set using this fun tool.
Of course, there are price considerations. Even on the low end, a brand new iOS device will set you back $400, and not everyone has the luxury of dropping that kind of money on their next smartphone. That being said, if $400 doesn’t seem like an unreasonable amount for a smartphone for you, you should opt for an iOS device. For those of you already comfortably swaddled within the Apple ecosystem I’m sure this seems like a no brainer, but for those in the Android system this may seem like a hard sell. Losing access to all the items purchased on the Google Play store is a tough pill to swallow, but take it as a reminder that you never really owned those apps or movies anyway since we’re all given some version of a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferrable, non-sublicensable license for the digital goods we buy. Apple is giving us the chance to take control of our digital footprints, and we should take it. 

The opinions expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not reflect the views of The Phoenix Editorial Board.