Life in London With an Android Phone

London Centric:

Sam was walking past a Royal Mail depot in south London in January when his path was blocked by a group of eight men.

“I tried to move to let them pass, but the last guy blocked the path,” the 32-year-old told London Centric. “They started pushing me and hitting me, telling me to give them everything.”

The thieves took Sam’s phone, his camera and even the beanie hat off his head. After checking Sam had nothing else on him, they started to run off.

What happened next was a surprise. With most of the gang already heading down the Old Kent Road, one turned around and handed Sam back his Android phone.

The thief bluntly told him why: “Don’t want no Samsung.”

This, despite the fact that the iPhone-Android market share split is around 50-50 in the UK. It’s that the iPhone overwhelmingly attracts people who care about their phone. Android attracts the people who don’t care. It’s the same reason why the Mac has, for decades now, dominated the profit share of the PC industry while garnering only about 10 percent unit-sale share. It’s also why it’s major news that Tesla is testing CarPlay support, and not news at all that they’re not testing Android Auto support. “Don’t want no Samsung” indeed.

★ Tuesday, 18 November 2025