Have you ever picked up somebody else’s phone and struggled to do something that takes seconds on your own?
If you’re an iPhone user, Android can feel unnecessarily complicated. And if you’ve always used Android, an iPhone might seem equally frustrating.
But is one really more difficult to use than the other? Or have we simply become so comfortable with what we know that anything different feels harder than it should?
The iPhone launched in 2007, with Android phones following in 2008. That’s nearly 20 years of learning where to find things, how to navigate menus and which gestures do what.
Over time, these actions become second nature. We barely think about how to share a photograph, change a setting or switch between apps.
But put a different operating system in our hands and suddenly we’re back to being beginners.
It’s easy to confuse familiarity with good design. Often, the technology we find easiest to use is simply the technology we’ve spent the longest learning.
Of course, it’s not just about knowing which buttons to press.
Most of us have built up a collection of devices, apps and services that work together. Apple users might have an iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or iCloud account. Android users may rely on Google services, Samsung devices or other connected products.
Changing phones can mean transferring data, replacing accessories or finding alternatives to familiar services.
And even when switching is relatively straightforward, there’s still the prospect of having to learn how everything works again.
It’s often easier to stick with what we know.
This is where things get interesting.
For years, smartphones have followed broadly the same design: a rectangular screen that fits in your pocket. Manufacturers have made them faster, improved their cameras and added new features, but the basic experience has remained familiar.
Foldable phones offer something different.
Opening a phone into a larger screen creates new possibilities, such as working on a document alongside an email, taking notes during a video call or using different parts of the screen for different tasks.
Samsung has already explored these possibilities with its foldable devices, and other manufacturers are developing their own approaches.
Could a genuinely different design encourage people to reconsider their loyalty to a particular operating system?
Perhaps. If we’re all having to learn new ways of using our phones, the advantage of familiarity might become less important.
Of course, the wider ecosystem still matters. A new design won’t automatically persuade somebody to abandon years of investment in Apple or Android. But it might give them a reason to reconsider.
The same reluctance to change is familiar in the workplace.
Businesses introduce new software, update systems or change established processes because they expect improvements in efficiency, security or productivity.
But even when the new technology is objectively better, employees don’t necessarily find it easier to use straight away.
Familiar systems allow people to work almost automatically. Changing them means learning new processes, finding different ways to complete everyday tasks and sometimes feeling less confident than before.
That’s why introducing new technology isn’t just about choosing the right product. It’s also about helping people adapt, giving them time to learn and making sure the benefits genuinely outweigh the disruption.
There’s a good reason we stick with familiar technology. It saves time, reduces frustration and allows us to get on with what we’re doing.
But familiarity isn’t necessarily a measure of quality, and being comfortable with something doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement.
Whether it’s a new smartphone, a different piece of software or a change to the way a business operates, the challenge is often the same: recognising when the benefits of doing something differently are worth the effort of learning something new.
And perhaps the next time we find ourselves struggling with an unfamiliar phone, we should remember that different doesn’t necessarily mean difficult. Sometimes it just means different.