According to the Pew Research Center, U.S. students around the world who are between the ages of 13 and 17 are collectively becoming phone users, with 97% of them reporting that they use or have access to a smartphone. Whether it’s for communication, school or simply entertainment, these devices are becoming essential to the day-to-day lives of high schoolers.
Sophomore Renee DeRoy expressed that she uses her phone consistently throughout the day.
“I probably text five times in like 10 minutes, or probably more,” DeRoy said.
But, as smartphones became more common among teenagers, differences between the devices themselves began shaping how students communicate with one another.
The main split between phones started in the late 2000’s, when the first Android phone, known as the T-Mobile G1 was released in October 2008. This sparked high competition as Apple had released its first mobile phone a year earlier, turning the industry into a patent war and a global race for smartphone accessibility.
However, not all phones function the same way. The two dominant platforms—Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android—offer different experiences that influence how teenagers interact with technology in their everyday lives.
DeRoy recalled having trouble creating a group chat for a school project with her fellow classmates, due to the inconvenience of different devices.
“There was a girl at this school, and my bio class made a group chat,” Deroy said. “She couldn’t join it because of her phone, so she ended up switching to Apple just so she could be part of all [iMessages] group chats.”
One reason for this divide is Apple’s messaging system, iMessage, which allows iPhone users to send messages, photos and reactions through internet-based chats that appear as blue bubbles. When an Android device is included in a group conversation, however, the messages switch to traditional SMS texting, often shown as green bubbles.
“On iMessage and stuff like that, it’s hard to add people to group chats, when you don’t have iPhones and so I think that makes it a little more difficult,” DeRoy said.
The difference between apps can limit certain features, such as message reactions, higher-quality images or smooth group messaging, which sometimes leads students to prefer communicating with others who also use a device with the same operating platform.
“I think sometimes joking around with people who have Samsungs and stuff like that can affect a lot of people who maybe don’t have [an iPhone], can’t afford to buy an Apple phone at the time or their family doesn’t want to switch,” DeRoy said.
Sophomore Shrika Satish says that certain features available on Apple devices can sometimes make communication more convenient.
“There’s not really a FaceTime app on Androids, so it can sometimes be harder to video call people who use iPhones,” Satish said. “But other than that, it works fine.”
While messaging systems like iMessage often receive the most popularity for communication, students could manage the differences by resorting to social media apps like Snapchat or Instagram. These apps work across both Apple and Android systems, so they can help bridge the gap between the two platforms.
“I use Instagram for texting people, especially if they don’t have the same kind of phone,” Satish said. “It’s easy to reach out to my friends, and I can also just watch and share Reels.”
Despite the differences between smartphone platforms, some students say that phones still play an overall positive role in how teenagers connect.
“I think there’s a lot of negativity that goes on online. But being able to communicate with people so openly and easily is also a big positive about phones,” DeRoy said.
As technology continues to evolve, both Apple and Android devices remain central to how students communicate, showing that while the platforms may differ, the goal of staying connected remains the same.
“I don’t think [phone differences] affect friendships because you’re still communicating with your friends,” Satish said.
