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In a recent Tweet, Android thought it was cleverly exposing an iPhone iOS flaw. Or at least what Android perceived as an iOS flaw. The caption read,
“If they can put WiFi on a plane 33,000 ft. in the sky, why do you still need a cell signal just to text?
Apple hasn’t talked about it. We, however, love an informed audience. #GetTheMessage”
The message that Android didn’t seem to get was that in its snide attempt to air Apple’s dirty laundry, what it exposed was its own biggest flaw. Because there’s one thing that Apple gets that Android doesn’t-and it boils down to just one word.
Android’s Tweet states that “Apple doesn’t tell you the whole truth about read receipts.” But of course, Android does. Android goes on to explain why the iPhone does show read receipts for all texts (not to be confused with iMessages).
Apple’s dirty little secret, according to Android, is that iPhones rely on outdated technology (SMS/MMS) to communicate with non-iPhones. While Android isn’t wrong, it doesn’t get the story quite right. Because there’s something Android doesn’t want users to know.
Android crafts the story to make it sound like a problem. And it is a problem but only for those using the Android operating system.
For Apple, this isn’t a problem at all. In fact, it was designed this way on purpose and for a brilliant reason that Android does not quite understand. It’s part of Steve Jobs’ brilliant three-step method for solving difficult problems and It happens to be the exact reason why Apple’s iPhone revenue was $191 Billion in 2021-$165 Billion higher than Android’s estimated revenue of $31 Billion.
Apple has one thing Android doesn’t: brilliant marketing.
Apple built the iPhone using several brilliant growth hacking strategies. From the “Sent from an iPhone” message that was automatically added to outgoing emails and changing the message color to blue giving users the ability to know which device their contacts were using to read receipts-the feature that enables you to see whether someone has read your text.
The genius part of Apple’s marketing strategy was that it didn’t just make people want to own an iPhone, it made people want their friends and family members to also own an iPhone. Because, sure, Apple could easily enable read receipts on text messages, but why would it? After all, it’s one of the perks of being an iPhone user and part of the Apple club.
As trivial as read receipts are, they are one tiny example of how Apple did an incredible job of marketing the iPhone, turning it into a product that had record-breaking revenue last year-representing 52 percent of Apple’s total revenue.
While Android points fingers at Apple for lacking the technology to roll out something as basic as enabling read receipts on text messages, Android reveals its lack of understanding of strategic marketing. While Android makes the elementary mistake of laughing at something it doesn’t understand, it illustrates its lack of marketing prowess and why its revenue is just a small fraction of the iPhone’s.
As much as marketing might be seen as a very long four-letter word, businesses that master marketing can dominate their markets, build cult brands, and surpass their competition. Marketing plays a major role in the degree of success businesses have. With great marketing mediocre startups succeed and with mediocre marketing great startups may still fail.
Apple focused on brilliant marketing strategies from the onset. It made people want to be a part of something. It used a marketing exclusivity strategy to fuel desire. And it makes it known who used an iPhone and who didn’t to further increase product demand. Android might be superior, but because of Apple’s genius marketing, iOS users might never know.
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