Android’s obsession with Apple’s playbook is backfiring and users are paying the price

Let’s take a trip back to 2017. Do you remember Samsung’s Growing Up ad campaign? The ad followed a die-hard Apple fan through ten years of disappointment.

Google wasn’t shy either. It took shots at Apple’s notch and made a big deal about having a headphone jack. Those moments defined what Android stood for.

Android, with Samsung and Google at the forefront, was the brand for people who wanted freedom, features, and a little more common sense.

Now fast-forward to today. Pull out the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or Google Pixel 10 Pro. Look for the headphone jack. Nothing there. Look for the charger. Also missing.

And the microSD card slot that used to give you extra storage for next to nothing? History. In chasing Apple’s profits, Android phone manufacturers have turned their backs on the very principles that made their platform great.

What’s left is a fragmented and overpriced mess. And you, the loyal user, are the one who is paying for it.

Remember when Android phones worked for the user, not the brand?

To see how far we’ve drifted, you have to look back at what Android once stood for. Around 2014, during its golden age, the poster children of that era were phones like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G3.

These phones were made for people who wanted to shape their experience. You probably remember the trinity of features that defined Android’s glory days.

If your phone died, you popped off the back, swapped the battery, and went back to full charge.

Storage was never an issue either. You didn’t have to pay a $200 storage tax to get more space. You bought a 128GB microSD card for a fraction of the price and carried your entire music and movie library with you.

And then there was the 3.5mm headphone jack. You could plug in anything from $5 gas station earbuds to $500 audiophile headphones.

Manufacturers love to say they had to seal phones and remove ports to make them look premium or improve water resistance. But that’s a convenient lie.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 — complete with a removable battery, microSD slot, and plastic back — still managed to be IP67 water-resistant.

Android brands saw Apple’s financial success and followed it. Glued-in batteries led to repeat purchases. Limited storage opened the door to higher pricing tiers.

The Android promise of choice couldn’t survive in that environment. It clashed with the profit-first model that dominates today. The business strategy won, and the user lost.

Following Apple without understanding why it works

Here lies the core issue. Android didn’t just imitate Apple; it did it badly. What we have now is a version of Android that feels less open than before and less polished than Apple’s environment.

Every time Android mocked Apple before doing the same thing

The hypocrisy is hard to miss. Apple moves first, Android mocks, then Android quietly does the same thing.

When Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 in 2016, Google and Samsung spent the next two years running ads poking fun at dongle life.

Yet by 2017, Google dropped the jack on the Pixel 2, and Samsung followed with the Galaxy Note 10 in 2019.

When Apple stopped including a charger in the box with the iPhone 12 in 2020, Samsung mocked the decision on social media.

Only months later, the Galaxy S21 shipped without one, and Google joined in with the Pixel 6 in 2021.

Samsung and Google watched, mocked, and then realized how much money they were missing out on.

Cutting the port opened a lucrative new market for $200 Galaxy Buds and $150 Pixel Buds.

Closed like Apple, but without Apple’s polish

If Android had truly pulled off Apple’s playbook, users might at least have had a seamless experience.

Instead, they got the worst of both worlds. Apple’s ecosystem may be closed, but it’s polished.

iPhones, Macs, and Apple Watches communicate effortlessly. Files move instantly through AirDrop, and iMessage keeps everything in sync.

Google and Samsung created a maze of apps, services, and platforms that trip over each other. Apple had AirDrop that worked flawlessly.

Samsung, in its infinite wisdom, launched Quick Share. Google, the company that actually makes Android, launched Nearby Share.

Both did the same thing. Both used the same underlying technology. Yet for so long, they couldn’t talk to each other.

Two Android phones — one Samsung, one Pixel — had two separate, incompatible AirDrop systems.

Or imagine buying the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. It’s one of the best Android smartwatches. But you prefer Pixel phones.

You’d think two flagship Android devices would work together nicely. They don’t. You’re punished for stepping outside the Samsung bubble.

Features, like ECG or blood pressure monitoring, are limited. The hardware is capable, the software exists, but the branded walls block you.

Google is just as guilty. As the shepherd of the Android platform, Google’s job should be to make all of Android better. Instead, it holds its best software magic hostage to sell its own Pixel phones.

Being an Android user costs more than ever

These decisions hit your wallet and test your patience. What we’re seeing now is a new, mandatory tax on being an Android user.

It starts simple. You’re paying premium, Pro-level prices for flagship phones that offer fewer features than your $300 handset from 2014.

Then you pay again. You buy a $20 USB-C to 3.5mm dongle just to use your existing headphones that work fine. It applies to storage, too.

With the death of the SD card slot, you’re cornered into either paying for the storage scam upfront or signing up for a cloud storage plan.

There is also the mental toll you pay every day. It’s the ten minutes spent trying to figure out why your Google Pixel Watch won’t sync with your Samsung phone.

You’re stuck with two versions of nearly every app. Samsung Messages or Google Messages? Samsung Pay or Google Wallet? Bixby or Google Assistant?

Add freedom to the list of things Android users are losing. For 15 years, openness was the platform’s defining trait. It’s the reason power users choose Android over Apple.

Google is building the final wall and using Apple’s favorite security justification. Starting in 2026, Google will introduce a new developer verification policy.

Under this rule, every developer — even those distributing apps outside the Play Store— must register with Google and provide government-issued identification and other personal documentation.

Developers who choose to remain anonymous, as many open source creators do, will see their apps blocked from installation entirely.

And let’s not forget the repairs. When your Pixel battery or Galaxy S25 screen fails, you’re funneled into the same expensive, proprietary repair monopoly that Apple built years ago.

The only reason we’re seeing any progress (like the new Pixel 10’s easier-to-fix design) isn’t acts of goodwill. It’s because the EU passed new laws forcing manufacturers to make parts available for seven years.

The fix isn’t becoming Apple, but being Android

Android phones were never meant to out-iPhone the iPhone. It earned its identity as an alternative, a platform built on choice, freedom, and customization.

By chasing Apple’s playbook, Android manufacturers have failed spectacularly. They have created a user-hostile, fragmented mess.

They’ve copied all of Apple’s restrictions while delivering only a hint of the “it just works” experience.

This obsession has become, ironically, the best advertisement Apple could ever ask for.

The solution isn’t more walls. It’s more bridges. Samsung and Google need to focus on making their systems work together.