Apple versus Android is one of the biggest non-political debates that people argue about today, but how do the students of Vista del Lago High School feel about it?

In a survey of 100 Vista students, 83 percent of the respondents chose Apple over Android as seen in the pie chart above. A mere 16 percent of the students preferred Android, and one percent preferred a different brand altogether.

So why are Apple phones significantly more popular than Android phones among Vista’s students and why do others prefer Android? Through the anonymous survey the students took, they also gave their reasoning behind their preferences.

The top reason that both Apple and Android users prefer their choices is the user friendliness of the smartphones.

“I wouldn’t consider myself ‘loyal’ to Apple, but their system is very user-friendly [sic],” said one Apple user.

On the other hand, Android users believe their devices are much more user-friendly in comparison to Apple devices.

“I like my Android because Apple phones are user-unfriendly as they have one measly home button and now [they] have no headphone jacks [sic],” said an Android user.  No matter the reasoning, both smartphone users believe their phones are more user-friendly.

Many of the respondents on both sides of the spectrum also found that they prefer their devices out of habit.

“I’ve grown up using Apple and am accustomed to the way if functions,” said one student. It seems that both smartphone users find their phones great because they have no experience with the other option.

Another reason many of the Apple and Android users prefer their phones because their iPhones sync with other Apple products through a shared iCloud account. An iCloud account allows people to download similar apps on all of their Apple devices and share information such as contacts and files.

“All my devices are Apple. I enjoy the seamless transition device to device,” said one respondent. Compatibility seems to be of great value for Apple users.

Some Apple users prefer their devices because it will take too long to switch to Android.

“Mostly I stick with Apple because switching to Android would be more trouble than it’s worth to transfer/recreate all the data on my iPhone to an Android phone,” said one student.

As another factor, a majority of the respondents, specifically the Apple owners, prefer their devices because they believe their devices are designed better than the Android phones.

“It’s really easy to use and the interface is simple and attractive,” said an Apple user.

A few Android users prefer their phones because they are more customizable than Apple phones. Androids allow their users to alter their phones to their preference using widgets. Widgets allow users to perform particular functions or access certain services on their devices. “Customization on all screens and overall design of the interface,” said one Android user.

Both Apple and Android users prefer their phones for particular features that are only found on their specific device. For example, Apple users prefer their iMessage feature. iMessage is the application Apple users use to text their friends and families. iMessage works hand in hand with the iCloud account because iMessage allows devices to connect through iCloud.

“…iMessage lets me stay in contact with family and friends despite the terrible cellular service up at Vista,” said one respondent.

Android users enjoy the different keyboards that Android devices offer in the settings. “I like the keyboard that has both the letters and the symbols,” said one user.

Whether they own an Apple device or an Android, Vista students can agree that smartphones are very important to them in their daily lives.

WRITER’S NOTE: Thank you to the first 100 people who participated in this survey and to the other 30 people who participated but whose responses were not used in the article due to issues with the SurveyMonkey software. Special thanks to the freshmen class president, Nicholas Wall, for posting about the survey on the Vista Class of 2020 Instagram account.