Alphabet Chairman Schmidt Admits He Uses Both An iPhone 6s And Galaxy S7, Cites Samsung Superiority
It’s no secret that Google and Apple have a strained relationship. Late Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs once openly declared thermonuclear war on Google for "theft" when it comes to the Android operating system, but that hasn’t stopped Google from bestowing on iOS a bevy of apps. Everything from Gmail to Maps to Chrome to YouTube to Gboard (which currently is an iOS-exclusive) is available on the iPhone. This is great for people that like Google services, but prefer Apple hardware.
Given this embrace of cross-platform app support on the part of Google, it should come as no shock that its Chairman, Eric Schmidt, carries around an iPhone 6s during his daily travels. He was even seen taking pictures with an iPhone 6s during a trip to South Korea in March, and used to be an Apple board member.
After all, it’s beneficial for Google to keep abreast of what the competition is doing and to ensure that Google apps and services are functioning properly on competing hardware.
But the iPhone 6s isn’t the only smartphone that Schmidt carries around; he also uses a Samsung Galaxy S7 as a daily driver. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which one he actually prefers.
“I have a Samsung S7 and an iPhone 6S and the Samsung S7 is better. A better battery, and it has a better camera,” said Schmidt when speaking at the CNBC at Startup Fest in Amsterdam. “So are we clear? And those of you who are iPhone users, I'm right.”
Schmidt didn’t stop there; he also got in a subtle dig at the EU over its charges that Google has an anti-competitive monopoly in Europe with its Android operating system. Members of the audience were asked to raise their hands if they used an iPhone — the majority of the audience raised their hands.
"So much for the Android monopoly in Europe,” Schmidt quipped. While it makes for a funny sound bite, Android’s actual market share in the EU5 (Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain) stands at 75.6 percent according to Kantar Worldpanel Comtech.
