Apple exec Phil Schiller has once again gone on the offensive in terms of Android. We saw the out of the ordinary tweet from him back on March 7. With that message he telling people to “be safe out there” and while those four words alone could have meant anything — he also linked to an F-Secure report that touched on Android and malware.

Basically, he was sending that message to Android users. We noted at the time that it was out of the ordinary for Schiller to post such comments. But also that it was uncommon for him to use Twitter with his previous message coming way back in December 2012. Needless to say, we put that snide comment behind us and went about our way. That is, until today.

It seems Schiller has once again gone on the attack against Android. This time the comments came by way of a Wall Street Journal interview in which he spoke about how “Android is often given as a free replacement for a feature phone.” Other topics that came up touched on fragmentation and about how Android devices can suffer because the hardware and software come from different parties. Of course, that is a play on the bit about how the iPhone hardware and the iOS software is all made by one party — Apple.

Schiller also mentioned that “when you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with.” Speaking personally, I have yet to see that issue. Granted, there are plenty of third party apps you can use that would require a sign-in, but none are necessarily required. Bottom line here, Schiller has once again attacked Android.

On the flip side though, while Schiller may be taking this time to do some Android bashing, analysts are telling a different story. One in particular, Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner has said that he believes that “Google’s iterative improvements on Android have made it a much stronger competitor to Apple than it was years ago” and that “there’s going to be an incredible amount of pressure on Apple once the Galaxy S4 is out.”

[via WSJ]

4 COMMENTS

  1. Schiller can snark all he wants- the S4 is ready to bury the iPhone 5 and all he can do is invent stories to scare people too lazy to do the research.

  2. Very disappointed in Schiller’s demeanor. I guess not being the one to replace Jobs stuck in his craw a wee bit? For an executive he exhibits exceeding poor judgment. Typical of what now has become Apple hubris. Too bad, as I used to purchase and like Apple’s products.

    • Couldn’t agree more with this. When it comes to laptops/desktops, I’m Apple all the way. They offer a superior OS (though it’s not without flaws), at least for those in the design/production business. And despite losing out on the integration benefits, for tablets and smartphones I think I’ll always stick with Android. All the flaws and lackings of Android he seems set on are those found in cheap, low-end Android phones that are mostly gobbled up by those who A) don’t want/need the advanced functionality, or B) can’t afford a high-end device. To this day, the only complaint I have with my Galaxy Nexus is that you have to work around to import Facebook photos for contacts. I don’t have a slew of accounts to fumble around with, nor is my phone plagued by evil third-party apps that seek to destroy humanity. Bottom line: Android phones continue to innovate while the iPhone is continually predictable and underwhelming. I still have a bit of respect for Apple (though much less since Jobs passed), but they need to cease this “We’re better just because” argument that ignores all the truths and distracts them from the fact that they need to do more to compete.

  3. A sign of worry and grasping at straws? Obviously they feel threatened in order to make false accusations. I love my macbook pro and iPad. But am in love with Android. While Apple tends to work on the physical outlook of the phone it lacks true innovation like Android/Google does. Security? Well yes they might have better security if you think the monopoly they have on the iPhone is security. I’m not putting down the iPhone, I recommend it to those that aren’t tech savvy nor interested in physical and internal innovation.

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