The Engineered Anxiety of the "Fruit Phone" Ecosystem

What's the latest published iPhone? As of right now, it's the iPhone 17 series.

How many watts is the fast charge for the iPhone 16 series? Officially, they quote figures for their 20W adapter, but technical specifications and testing show they peak higher, around 30W to 45W depending on the specific model and testing conditions. They don't want to brag about it because those numbers still look low compared to many Android flagships.

iPhones will never allow me to compare them directly with Android phones, and that’s the point. Apple seems to be focusing intensely on optimization from blueprints, design, architecture, hardware, to software, end-to-end. This vertical integration is what gives them their stable, cohesive user experience. Android phones, being an open-source system, have so many denominations and variants—from the cheapest to the hyper-premium—that they can’t offer that same consistency.

The prevailing narrative is that no matter how many Android phones try to technically overtake Apple, Apple is the most purchased phone in the world (or at least the top-selling single model line). This narrative is a form of soft psychological pressure.

And this is the core of the problem, the reason I, as an Android user and humane-tech activist, must feel bad for what I bought with cash, with no carrier lock-ins and fully paid specifications.

This is what Apple wants: to make non-Apple users feel less-than. Like me. They win when they successfully create this psychological divide and engineered anxiety.

They win huge in profits. But as an IT student dedicated to challenging injustice, it is my power and duty to question their approach to those profits. Their financial ecosystem heavily relies on cooperation with carriers, heavy financing, and loan-based sales models. They are even exploring subscriptions for iPhones. This reliance on debt and interest-based transactions, which often equates to riba (usury) in a financial justice context, is a systemic punishment for those who cannot pay the exorbitant prices outright. The high cost forces many into these debt traps, normalizing a toxic financial practice.

Yes, I feel the shame for not using an iPhone. This is what they win in—psychologically convincing those who value equity, self-sufficiency, and financial prudence that their choices are somehow inferior. My resistance is not just about phones; it's about rejecting a business model that preys on aspiration and financial vulnerability.

Revived from an original blog entry draft, first published on May 12, 2025.