22 per cent of UK iPhone owners regret the purchase, according to a survey.
The poll, conducted by GoodMobilePhones.co.uk, asked 1,694 Brits aged 18 and over whether they were satisfied with their phone. And it would seem that a decent chunk of those who opted for Apple's shiny high-end smart phone wish they hadn't bothered.
So why would anyone regret filling their pockets with iPhone-flavoured goodness? 43 per cent of those who said they 'regretted' getting an iPhone claimed it was down to jealousy of rival smart phones, whereas 25 per cent blamed battery life.
While 1,694 people is a decent survey size, not all of those will have owned iPhones, so the actual number of iPhone owners polled will be smaller, and therefore any results garnered will be a bit less reliable.
But is there a nugget of truth buried in these results? Apple certainly knows how to market its gadgets, filling your telly, trains and Tube with its typically trendy advertising, so we're sure there are a number of folks out there who get excited about owning an iPhone, only to find out post-purchase that it's not really the right mobile for them.
We've also seen some excellent iPhone alternatives this year, not least the staggeringly good Samsung Galaxy S2, a phone whose huge 4.3-inch display will have drawn more than a few green-eyed glances from iPhone owners. The Nokia Lumia 800 is also out now, dragging the underdog Windows Phone operating system into the limelight.
Over to you -- do you own and despise an iPhone? What would make an Apple user jealous of Android? Or are old phones just better? Tell us in the comments, on our Facebook wall or over on Google+.
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anonymous 18 November, 2011 13:27
My name is Rob and i hate having an iphone4 - it is pretty naff and it makes a naff paper weight - i wanted it as i thought it would make me look cool...better luck next time i guess :(
anonymous 18 November, 2011 13:32
I don't regret having my iPhone - it makes me appreciate my Galaxy S2 and Android SOOOO Much more.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 14:52
This Pro iphone website will still place Apple and its products above all others. I have friends who have iphones, a couple of whom do regret buying them so maybe just maybe their is some truth in the survey.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 15:02
I had a 3G, then 4 and now 4S (yes, sucker me - upgraded to the 4S for the useless-in-UK Siri and because I wanted a white phone).
The main reasons for sticking to Apple, is the fact that I use the phone as an iPod on the commute to and from work, the phones hardly ever have any hardware problems, and I have my music synced from iTunes to my handset when at home via Airplay/wifi.
When Match is released in the UK, I will probably take advantage of a year's subscription, just to have my music collection in both 320kbps mps and 256kbps AAC.
If Sony released a proper Walkman phone on Android with their A-Class chip and an aluminium body then I would seriously consider switching.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 15:05
I've had an iphone for well over 2 years and every once and again I do get a bit of android jealousy. But I have never regretted getting one. It i not a cool phone but it is one that is reliable, the OS has never crashed on me and applications very very rarely crash. On top of that some applications still manage to surprise me and give me that "I can't believe noone's though of this" feeling. That said, I got my partner a Galaxy S2 because of said jealousy. I get to play with it every once in a while and while it has a great screen it actually made me reconsider moving away from iPhone. It's not that the iPhone is that much better it's just that S2 is no iPhone, the OS is not as polished and I need to give up some of my apps and repurchase others.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 15:17
I got an iPhone 4 after a Nokia N8, for the simple reason that the Nokia N8 is (and all Symbian phones are) locked to a particular language region, so I could not read Chinese on the phone without flashing it at a Nokia Care Point and losing the warranty. Brilliant.
The iPhone is a beautifully made thing. iTunes makes it easy to sync music, and the App Store is simple and clear (and I have never bought any apps).
Small things annoy me:
1.
It's a pain to archive GMail if you want to "actually" delete messages in the Mail program (no need to say the GMail app is awful).
2.
Why on earth can't the icons be widgets? Would it be so hard for the weather icon to update from its eternal 23*c sunshine?
3.
The camera is awful. I can't speak for the 4S, but the iPhone has a terrible camera - noise renders pictures almost worthless, and the pinch-to-zoom in iOS5 makes photography a misery.
I'm over my love affair with the iPhone and happy to move on to something else. Sony, Samsung and others are making perfectly respectable handsets. As a consumer, I couldn't give a rat's arse whether Android copies Apple's patents. I want something that works the way that I work, and Apple's half-arsed update with the 4S gives me no reason to stick with them when the contract runs out.
Daniel.
NJhiker 18 November, 2011 15:33
Complete contradicts this report doesn't it?
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-08-01/tech/29974966_1_android-iphone-owners-gene-munster
anonymous 18 November, 2011 16:33
I'm from the Netherlands and I got the iPhone 4 for exactly one year at the end of this month (unlocked/provider-free)
Before it was only available on contract trough T-Mobile NL.
I use the phone NEXT to my Samsung Galaxy S which I have since june last year.
The reason for me to buy the iPhone was I wanted to know for myself what all the hype was about.
Compared to my Galaxy the iPhone has his stronger and weaker points ;)
Most important stronger points:
solid build, far better battery life, smoothness of menu's/apps, very good updates for the OS.
Most important weaker points:
small screen, very hard/unpossible to customize (sms-mp3) and exchange files/photo'swith other smartphones and the obligation to use iTunes for most sync/install tasks.
Looking back at the past year I'm using the Galaxy far more than the iPhone because of the larger and brighter screen ;)
I don't realy regret buying the iPhone but my next phone will be a Galaxy again very soon.
Until the iPhone gets a much bigger screen, I won't buy a iPhone agian. Sorry.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 16:59
phone is Ok but the rip off contracts are too much. Won't be getting a 5.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 17:45
You guys are hilarious, the more pathetic ones are those who buy an iPhone for comparison, hahahahaha
anonymous 18 November, 2011 19:12
I really miss my iPhone I was seduced by the galaxy's2 and it's rubbish the iPhone is much more complete an experience can I have my iPhone back please
Mugen13 18 November, 2011 20:02
Have a galaxy s2 Hercules unlock and previously owned an iphone 4. Waited to see what the iphone 5 was going to be before buying and because i knew the galaxy was being updated. Well , the iphone turned out to be just 4s and while there is no denying the siri thing (at least in the us) was a good thing. Further, i couldn't get around another 2 years of Att for what's basically exactly what i already had. So i sold it and got an experia arc. The phone was amazing. Wish it was louder in the headphones (using my beats and mu shures) helped but i really missed the iphone hardcore raw sound when working out. When the galaxy s2 finally came out i bought it and immedilately sold the Sony. Not because i wanted to, but because instead of staying with Att i decided to pay the termination fee and get a no contract with t-mobile. This phone is far greater than the iphone 4 and deff worth a look. It syncs everything, gives me a day of work and sounds even louder than the iphone. The camera is crisp and the screen........ Blows any phone I've ever seen. In short then, this is the best phone one can buy right now, including also the razr which is incredibly thin but have to see what yer nexus galaxy will be like. The iphone had lost its mojo, i know apple is no quitter but they will have to make something very remarkable to win me back....
Mark Carruthers 18 November, 2011 20:34
I have just switched from the Android Desire with 2.2 which suffered from very poor radio reception, poor appearance after about 6 months of fairly light use, a camera which was OK but not brilliant and an almost total lack of software to integrate with my PC. I now have an iphone 4S which represents a decent step forward whilst costing me nothing to upgrade to from the Desire. Frankly although Apple is a closed system compared to the open source android there are definite user advantages in my experience. I shall not be hankering after ice cream sandwich or rhubarb custard or whatever its called until it is as slick and effortless from the get go as my iphone is.
Burt Weller 18 November, 2011 21:56
anyone who's ever listened to the butthole surfers will know that it's better to regret something you have done, rather than regret something you haven't done. My first smart phone was a 3GS, now i'm running the latest cyanogenmod rom on my desire hd.
yeah, my htc has a few failings in comparison with my old iphone but i definitely couldn't go back to iOS now, i'm waaay happier with android.
Burt Weller 18 November, 2011 21:59
however, i sold my old 3gs for the princely sum of £200 after 26 months of daily use - i doubt if i'll get anything like that for my desire hd....
Jordan-Findlay 18 November, 2011 22:07
I have an iPhone 4 and not once has it ever crossed my mind that I regretted buying it. The camera is better than most smart phones, the os is clearly the most polished, it's very light and thin, the battery life is very long 6-7 hours, iOS is the best for gaming and practacle uses, it has the apple a4 chip, it's connected to iTunes and has an app store with over 250,000 apps which some I would consider a console worthy game. It's an aluminium unibody so it could drop several meters and not even scratch, it has the largest amount of memory for a phone (64 gb), it has access to the Internet, and has a multi touch capacitive touch screen.
When I opened cnet uk on my iPhone I was appalled and quite shocked when I read the words " 22 percent of iPhone users regret getting one ", not for one minute have I even briefly thought of seeing a flaw in my iPhone 4.
Burt Weller 18 November, 2011 22:27
If Sony released a proper Walkman phone on Android with their A-Class chip and an aluminium body then I would seriously consider switching.
Burt Weller 18 November, 2011 22:28
with a psp built in... nah, actually make that a ps3....
Burt Weller 18 November, 2011 22:29
or a walkman tablet that can play ps3 games in full on 1080p? am i thinking too far ahead here?
Burt Weller 18 November, 2011 22:30
a walkman tabletey thing what can download android apps and play ps3 games in 1080p..... yeah....
anonymous 18 November, 2011 22:31
Sounds like a BS survey, Congratulations on good click bait!
iPhone has had the highest customer satisfaction rating of not just any phone but any consumer electronics device for the last 4 years. It is possible with the issues a few are having with the 4s battery that right now satisfaction will be a bit lower than it has been but a week from now that will be fixed too and you will set the 90% plus satisfaction rate again.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 22:54
Brits are funny... I never knew that.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 22:56
BTW... I guess the other headline/way to spin the story is 88% of y'all are satisfied.
anonymous 19 November, 2011 03:07
So the *real* takeaway is that 78% are good with their iPhone purchase. A 78% purchase satisfaction rating is pretty remarkable, actually.
anonymous 19 November, 2011 13:07
That means 88% don't regret it?!
anonymous 19 November, 2011 15:41
88%, satisfied, eh? Does the iPhone not have a calculator?
anonymous 19 November, 2011 17:37
The fact that 43 per cent of those who said they regretted buying an iPhone said it was down to jealousy of other phones is ridiculous and those peoples opinions shouldn't even have counted. No matter what phone you have you'll be jealous of others, that's just a childish excuse. And how can you be jealous of other phones when you have the collect, most popular and best phone in the world. These are people who don't know much about phones and have childish opinions. Also people saying the battery life was bad, Apple have one of the best batteries in the world, if your ant a much thicker phone with 30 minutes more battery go ahead but it won't have 1/10 of the features. What Apple have done with the iPhone is very impressive. If Apple had never brought out the iPhone we probably wouldn't have half the technology we do now and people wouldn't be buying smartphones. I hate all of these anti-apple posts, other manufacturers will do anything to put Apple rep down when really they owe everything to have to Apple who re-introduced the public to smartphones just like they did with tablet PCs. If Apple had not introduced the iPad do you really think all of these manufacturers would have made their own? No of course not, they are all copying what Apple do and it is disgusting.
I have had an iPhone for 3 years and couldn't even think about changing, the interface is impeccable and the choice of apps is unrivalled. In the last few months more and more people are buying iPhones as their own choice of phone is failing. These are the people giving bad feedback like this, they are too used to their Blackberrys where the battery life is much longer but it's longer because there is considerably less features and therefor can last longer. Don't listen to these statistics and if your thinking of buying an iPhone I very much recommend it.
PLUS Apple have THE highest customer satisfaction rate from any other manufacturer so this article proves nothing. Maybe should have mentioned this at the start of my comment but oh well.
anonymous 20 November, 2011 06:05
I don't regret buying my iPhone 4, compared to my previous phones it's got a superb interface and extras they couldn't never match.
My issues with the iPhone are ...
Low battery warnings ... Everyone always want better battery life but it's reasonable for basic use. Taking video, running multiple apps and using GPS will eat battery life but it's not far off what I got from my old Garmin. Please, just give me a few more warnings below 10% before going totally dead and come back to life sooner. I find it a bit frustrating having to wait several minutes before I can power it on again my older phones seemed to be much quicker at coming back to life.
Too many useless apps or ones that cost more than the Android version.
iOS updates via iTunes
and
I miss a micro-SD slot.
Probably Samsung or HTC will be my phone of choice for the next 2 years and the iPhone will be my spare until the next upgrade and it will get donated to family or friends.
anonymous 20 November, 2011 15:21
iphone is the best phone ever so i dont know what the f is every1 moaning about.
iphone is everything
anonymous 20 November, 2011 20:03
i've had an iphone4 for quite a while. then i got an android samsung galaxy s2 and the difference is just huge. android kicks **** not saying that iphone sucks, but android phones are way more open and cool
anonymous 21 November, 2011 02:41
Sooooo, the article's title could have also read "78% of UK iPhone owners completely satisfied"
Thats not bad....
I've had 3 iPhones (1g [original], 3G, and 4), I have been running it jailbroken for 2 years now, and my phone is still more stable than my buddies stock htc incredible.... Don't see myself switching any time soon...
anonymous 21 November, 2011 11:52
I had them all. Apart from the galaxy.....My mate has one and its no iPhone. I always laugh when I hear how much better Android is from people who don't want an iPhone because its what everyone else has!
I was on the train from the City two days ago and I counted 11 people using an iPhone and one blackberry. But the reason for remembering this was, threw the blackberry back in her bag, swore, then asked her friend if she could borrow her iPhone.
Here is the reason for the iPhone's success. Its was the first phone that worked as advertised and continues to do so. Also, your 90 year old blind Gran could work it.
Jobs gave the public what they wanted.......
Android = PC.......far to open.....
anonymous 21 November, 2011 14:58
Xperia Play has been the best phone Ive ever had, due to the amazing Android system. It Does almost everything an iphone can do + more!
To have Siri YOU NEED TO BUY A NEW HANDSET! For android just download an app. No need to jailbreak. Totally customise your desktop, live wallpapers, smooth HD games from the start! extended memery (several micro sd cards)
Play almost any video files without having to convert through itunes, which ive heard takes a while
Power Amp in my case beats all apps for playing music.. So far
From what ive heard from iphone users what they can't do, I will always stick to Android
Instead of saying "iphone can" change too 'iphone can't!" well not as much as android
anonymous 21 November, 2011 15:18
to be with apple you either have an iphone, 3g, 4, 4s (they are all preety much the same)
To have an android you can have a selection of models for affordable prices
Due to ultimate and brilliant iphone marketing, lots of consumers are sucked in not even realising what the androids are capable of.
Instance - My brother in Law says "Im getting an iphone 4s" - I replied "why? whats the big deal",
he says "Due to SIRI you can talk to send messages, make calls, open apps etc..." -
"My phone can already do this!" - Said back at him.
On a personal note, I can never get bored of using my android - its the best there is!, I would never go back to iphone
anonymous 5 December, 2011 07:48
UNBELIEVABLE IPHONE 5 CONCEPTS ON YOUTUBE HAHAHAHA! http://adf.ly/42aEk
anonymous 14 December, 2011 08:04
@NJhiker 18 November, 2011 15:33
"Complete contradicts this report doesn't it?
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-08-01/tech/29974966_1_android-iphone-owners-gene-munster"
Are you referring to the article written on August with this one?
Apple fanboy is idiot!
anonymous 16 December, 2011 13:15
Have to say i am more than happy with HTC and Android, Iphones are IMo for suckers who want to be seen to be following the masses (but boy do they have to pay for it)
anonymous 30 December, 2011 12:03
People need to have a look at Samsung Galaxy s2 and they will jump over from iphone.. except the fanboys..
I been an ex apple iphone 3GS user.. and I can say large screen makes huge difference..
Once u go android u can never go back.. so much freedom.
anonymous 21 February, 2012 12:56
Really iphone sucks.people fell for the gimmick of so called new features ..they just copy android . Samsung galaxy is on top of the game if you ask me. And the white is so tight .