Upgraded to a 3G-S. didn't bother to jailbreak. Didn't miss it. Have run iOS primarily ever since.
Dabbled with Android on a HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S3. Noticed that many apps do not scale to the screen properly. Encountered folder bug on HTC One (created a folder in the launcher I could not delete until updating firmware). Noticed bug in alarm clock - didn't wake me up. Noticed scrolling was less smooth than my 3-4 year old iPhone from 2008. Constantly annoyed with the UI and crappy email program.
Didn't find anything to hold me to the platform and the UI was annoying. Handset quality was not as good - the S3 feels like a plastic child's toy, and the buttons on the bottom of the HTC one are awkward to use with one hand.
Exactly. In fact I'm pretty sure I recall Steve mentioning in an interview that he was lucky to have been there with Apple for 2 revolutionary products - the Apple II and the iPod - and that most companies are extremely lucky to ever see one revolutionary product get to market. Building your business model around reliably releasing revolutionary products year after year is setting yourself up for failure.
Not every release has to be a revolution. Simply making things better than the rest of the market, and selling them for a price those who want decent hardware will pay for has proven to be reasonably profitable.
No. Apple's business model is "don't build bargain basement crap". It just so happens that now and again, those "not bargain basement crap" items end up being groundbreaking, because plenty of other companies get to market first with garbage, or don't see the market at all.
Apple's prices haven't been high for a good 6-7 years or more now. Yes, i'm aware you can buy a laptop for $250. It's garbage. The trackpad will suck, the screen will suck, the OS will suck, etc. I've yet to use a PC laptop (and being the person who evaluates PC hardware purchase for my company, I see a lot) that feels as well engineered as a functional product as my 2011 Macbook Pro, at any price.
And this is where I am sure somebody will pull out some paper specs (which are largely irrelevant) claiming PC hardware superiority. Missing the point entirely.
Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. -- R. Drabek