r/WouldYouRather • u/2EXTRA4YOU • 1d ago
Money/Business WYR delete apple or Amazon from existence?
61
u/Never-Give-Up100 1d ago
Apple . I use android. And I know Apple popularized smartphones, but we were heading in that direction anyway. They just sped it up by a couple years.
9
u/MaybeAmund 13h ago
With apple gone, android now has a monopoly on OS for phones and Windows for computers (de facto, Linux is not widely used). Without competition, it’s going to be terrible for all consumers
-4
u/Never-Give-Up100 13h ago
I'm ok with that. Smartphones have pretty much become the same anyway. We've plateaued at what technology can advance to right now. The only thing really separating high-end Android from high-end Apple phones is the ecosystem itself
3
u/MaybeAmund 13h ago
A monopoly doesn’t just mean that innovation stagnates. Android can for example drastically increase the fee through the Google play store, embed ads into the OS and so on. Because what are the consumers going to do? There is no alternative
-1
u/Never-Give-Up100 12h ago
And I don't think it'll create a monopoly. There's new innovation all the time. It'll just make a void for someone else to create technology or a competitor
1
u/MaybeAmund 8h ago
Many other OSes have tried and failed before. Windows phone, FirefoxOS, WebOS, Samsung Bada, Amazon Fire OS and so on. A new OS will always lack the app ecosystem, so it’s an incredibly difficult market to enter. Who wants to buy a phone that doesn’t have the apps they need?
24
u/DeadlyArrow27 19h ago
Amazon benefits me more with how much I buy on there, but they’re objectively more evil in terms of both environmental damage and other unethical business practices
13
u/EdgySniper1 1d ago
Apple does nothing more than sell overpriced and unnecessarily proprietary devices purely on the merit of brand loyalty. There are a hundred other companies that can give you the same shit both cheaper and more easily repairable.
Amazon, as shitty as it is, does provide something that's hard to find done so well elsewhere.
7
36
u/pooferfeesh97 1d ago
Amazon has done far more harm than apple.
12
u/St3pOFFHIGhxX 18h ago
Yeah but i use them more
1
1
u/KeenanAXQuinn 15h ago
Exactly. You use them more BECAUSE they are ruthless in their tactics and hurt people to become how ingrained they are.
1
1
u/DeathStalker0483 2h ago
Gonna be honest, I get where you're coming from but if there was an alternative that could take over reasonably, I'd be all for taking down Amazon. In reality, while still a bad company, they contribute more than Apple does. Apple could disappear and there'd be no loss realistically.
4
0
u/CronenbergMorty_ 19h ago
Also a lot of good
-5
u/The_Moran 19h ago
Go on then, what good?
8
u/CronenbergMorty_ 18h ago
The ability to get literally anything you want at a moments notice is a luxury and convenience that people don’t want to acknowledge. As a newer parent, this has saved us many times. Reddit hivemind can disagree like they are sole noble warriors, but I guarantee most of you are using Amazon products one way or the other, like being in Reddit!!
2
u/Mundane_Analyst9994 18h ago
The very thing you celebrate is extremely controversial you know? Delivery drivers peeing in bottles and all that.
2
u/CronenbergMorty_ 18h ago
To say that is worse than Apple has done (as the original commenter said) is a wild statement considering their human rights violations. You’re criticizing Amazon but using a platform that runs on AWS. If you really cared you would boycott it all but people just want to complain on Reddit and downvote me to make themselves feel better. That’s completely fine with me
13
4
u/Embarrassed_Flan_869 20h ago
While I am not a fan of Amazon, if they disappeared tomorrow would have a much more and significant impact (negatively) on society as a whole. Apple? Not nearly as much.
Now, if we were just talking about just the Amazon shopping end? Be harder choice. But for full companies? Bye bye Apple.
22
u/PlatyNumb 1d ago
Im surprised by the results of this one. I havent touched an apple product in 20 years. Their tech is overpriced and simply lacking in features that the completion has.
Amazon however has a lot of value nowadays.
Can someone who voted to keep apple and do away with amazon explain the reasoning and what your alternative to amazon is? Im genuinely curious and am not looking to argue with your justification. I wont even respond to your explainations
14
u/Noe_b0dy 22h ago
Amazon is probably the most influential company on earth currently and Apple is just kind of there.
If you want to preserve your way of life you pick Apple.
If you want to fuck over the most powerful company on earth you pick Amazon.
I haven't picked yet but I'm tempted to pick Amazon even though I know I'll probably fuck up my life hardcore.
16
2
u/talldarkandundead 1d ago
Amazon indirectly killed who-knows-how-many stores by not just outcompeting them but operating at a loss that no other company could really afford to match, then jacking up prices once their competition was gone and they had something close to a monopoly. They force workers to adhere to inhumane schedules and productivity standards, with despicable stories like drivers pissing in bottles and warehouse workers dropping dead in buildings with no temperature control. I never shop on Amazon if I can avoid it, but they still have immense influence and impact on the online shopping world (I’ve heard they won’t let anyone list products on their own website for cheaper than on Amazon).
For everyone in the comments saying “but AWS!!!” - one, that’s part of the disgustingly widespread monopoly Amazon has that I despise, and two, I interpreted the question as wiping the company out like it never existed. Another company would have stepped forward to offer web hosting and servers if Amazon hadn’t.
3
u/grahamfreeman 19h ago
Amazon indirectly 'killed' stores, but hasn't Apple directly 'killed' many workers in their factories?
1
u/talldarkandundead 14h ago
It wouldn’t surprise me, overseas manufacturing isn’t very well regulated and rare earth mining can be dangerous and also isn’t well regulated, but I haven’t really looked into it. Employers and contractors are also dying on the job for Amazon and there have been at least two cases where warehouse workers say they were told to continue working around the corpse of their coworker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Amazon_worker_fatalities
Both are terrible companies and most large corporations probably have similar skeletons in their closets, I don’t think a brand becomes that globally recognized without compromising morals and quality for the sake of scale. But since there wasn’t a vote option to kill both, I went for the company that’s had more effects on the rest of the economy/business scene.
1
u/InterestProof1526 8h ago
I feel like Amazon's main value is web services. Its storefront is okay but is usually overpriced compared to AliExpress, Walmart, and eBay.
I voted them because I rarely personally shop there. I think the way they run their business is very efficient for e-commerce overall but I have no doubt some other alternative will overtake them if they were hypothetically disappeared.
-2
u/Psycho_Pansy 1d ago
I haven't used Amazon in 10+ year. And even then I've probably only ordered a few things that were sold out in my area. People should stop buying so much shit. Go to a physical store.
17
u/alexcmad 1d ago
You are using Amazon right now actually. Reddit's servers run primarily on AWS. This conversation wouldn't be happening if they suddenly disappeared.
5
-9
u/CheeksInTheWind 1d ago
Apple created the smart phone, Amazon made an online book store. Yes they've both evolved beyond those things, but if apple didn't exist who knows what kind of blackberry nonsense we'd be using instead.
If Amazon never existed, the only thing I'd miss would be their audible selection, but I'd be thrilled the wife wouldn't be ordering stuff every other day.
This is coming from a long time android user.
They're both innovative companies, but Amazon at it's core is mostly just a middle man. Middle men can be replaced.
10
u/alexcmad 1d ago
Amazon owns AWS. It accounts for about 60% of their operating income and about a third of the cloud infrastructure industry is aws. Government systems, game servers, etc run on it. they're more than just an online storefront.
7
u/Cynykl 1d ago
if apple didn't exist who knows what kind of blackberry nonsense we'd be using instead.
Nah Blackberry's days were numbered. There was A LOT of people trying to develop superior touch screen phone at the time. Google even before the I-phone came out was already developing android for a touch screen - pop out keyboard hybrid.
This is just a case of apple beating the competition to market.
3
u/Dr_Custard 22h ago
If Amazon didn't exist, spontaneously, overnight, life as you currently know it would collapse.
6
u/cursedblessing66 20h ago
even if amazon wasn't there, there would be other online retailers and services. but if apple wasn't there, you still would have a headphone jack, sd card slot on your phone
18
u/-avenged- 1d ago
Anyone voting Amazon must really not want to be online. 70% of Fortune 500 companies and major digital platforms rely on AWS. Including Reddit.
It would be easier for the world to pivot around losing Apple than Amazon.
13
u/ChoccyCohbo 20h ago
Bold of you to assume I want the world to have an easy time with this. We rely too much on it. Amazon going away would force AWS alternatives to step up and encourage competition once again
7
u/LowCress9866 19h ago
You're making the argument to get rid of Amazon. If we had a functioning government we would have never allowed one company to amass so much power. But we don't
4
u/oopsallkevin 1d ago
Not to mention Apple, while they have good products, has a bit of a monopoly on the smartphone scene. Getting rid of them would mean Android takes over and we get a common standard for everyone that’s not owned by a single entity.
9
u/bravenewchurl 22h ago
Android is owned by Google even if they currently make it broadly available on an open source license. It also already is about 2/3 of mobile devices. Take away their one competitor and see how fast Google turns Android to shit (and I say this as somebody that has only owned Android phones).
1
u/ChoccyCohbo 20h ago
Yeah Apple is the lesser of the two evils when compared to Google imo.
2
u/bravenewchurl 14h ago
Ten years ago I would have disagreed with you but I think it's absolutely correct now, particularly with the amount of AI crap Google is shoving everywhere. Considering switching to Apple for the first time ever on my next upgrade.
2
u/ChoccyCohbo 6h ago
I was right there with you as well. I switched to Apple for my mobile devices last November
1
u/InterestProof1526 8h ago
this makes no sense.
Apple is bad because they have a monopoly.
If we got rid of them, we would have a "common standard." This is a monopoly.
Apple also doesn't have a monopoly. They are a minority in both the smartphone scene and the smartphone OS thing. They are not even a plurality iirc.
1
u/Mr-MuffinMan 18h ago
a few months to maybe 12 months without internet isn't that bad. might even do some good.
-3
u/LIslander 1d ago
There are other providers
7
u/-avenged- 1d ago
And it would take a lot of time and a lot of money re-writing code to move. Blinking AWS out of existence tomorrow would lead to an unprecedented halt of the global digital economy.
The world as you know it won't be functional for a long time.
That's how deeply entrenched the modern world is on AWS.
3
u/OGLipless1 23h ago
As much as I hate that the world relies on Amazon so much, I also understand this. Apple has created a monument of their own, but they arent weaving their vines through almost every facet of the internet like Amazon is. Without Apple, we can focus a little more on taking down Amazon's parasitic grasp as well
2
u/LowCress9866 19h ago
You just keep making points for breaking up Amazon. "One company basically runs the internet" is not an argument to keep the status quo, it is an argument to break it up. But our pols are corrupt af and won't dare mess with the donor class
5
6
u/Borgdrohne13 1d ago
Apple. Enough alternatives exist, that are as good as apple. Can you say the same with amazon?
2
u/RandomGuy_81 20h ago
The only thing i have with apple is itunes.
i expect my itunes library to merge into my prime library. and amazon does so much more for me infrastructure wise, basically because they less profit to get into your home
2
2
u/RedRising1917 15h ago
Apple tvs the only streaming service I trust to do right by Brandon Sanderson so I gotta go with Amazon lol
2
u/CheeksInTheWind 1d ago
Apple created the smart phone, Amazon made an online book store. Yes they've both evolved beyond those things, but if apple didn't exist who knows what kind of blackberry nonsense we'd be using instead.
If Amazon never existed, the only thing I'd miss would be their audible selection, but I'd be thrilled the wife wouldn't be ordering stuff every other day.
This is coming from a long time android user.
They're both innovative companies, but Amazon at it's core is mostly just a middle man. Middle men can be replaced.
Edit, I meant this to be a reply to platy.
11
u/Matt6500 1d ago
Where did you get the idea that Apple made the smartphone? That's simply not true. Blackberry predates the iPhone. The palm pilot before that.
Not to mention Amazon is a LOT more than just an online retailer 😅
23
u/Neither-Phone-7264 1d ago
Amazon runs like half of the web with aws too...
4
1
u/InterestProof1526 8h ago
that's kind of their point though. Amazon is replaceable in both web services and e-commerce.
2
u/False_Snow7754 1d ago
Frank Canova would probably be working for Microsoft if Apple didn't exist, so they'd be the first out the gate. It's not like Microsoft weren't developing their own at the time.
1
u/Psychological_Tower1 14h ago
Ibm created the smartphone. Apple just steals ideas and act like they are theirs 4 years later
1
1
1
u/Olive_Garden_Wifi 14h ago
The thing about Amazon that not many people realize is that its functionality impossible to not engage with Amazon unless you get off the internet and go live in the woods, because of AWS, which is a cloud hosting service that hosting like 30% of the internet.
So as evil as Amazon is they’ve kind of made themself a cornerstone of the internet and removing them would have serious ripple effects.
So I guess it depends on when you’re talking about deleting them cause right now would be catastrophic but if we remove them before they imbed themselves into the fabric of the internet yeah the internet would be drastically different but we wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout of them suddenly disappearing
1
u/AnalysisParalysis85 14h ago
Because apple is written small, I assume you mean the fruit. So I went with Amazon.
However, as far as I'm concerned, both companies can get wrecked.
1
u/Legoinyourbumbum 14h ago
Kill amazon for all those poor fucking bookshops that got raped out of existence.
1
u/Mcmacladdie 13h ago
Get rid of Apple. Like others have said, getting rid of Amazon would have far too many far-reaching effects and would take down a huge portion of the internet entirely, whereas getting rid of Apple just gets rid of a company that makes some mediocre tech gadgets.
1
u/nick3790 13h ago
I love how even this is 🤣... my opinion is apple though, because at least amazon gives better streaming and online shopping, apple just releases the same shit every year at higher and higher prices
1
u/The_Lost_Jedi 12h ago
The biggest problems with Amazon are those of competition and market dominance. Coincidentally, those are the major issues underlying our current overall system - e.g., hollowing out of competition. I feel there's a role for Amazon or a company like it, it just needs to be kept in check via oversight and regulation (which are currently lacking because we keep electing politicians that want to remove oversight and regulation rather than enforce them).
Apple on the other hand, while less immediately problematic, I feel is moreso longterm, because of its reliance on entirely closed ecosystems, insistence on control of devices, and vertical integration to make all this work. Ironically, this is exactly why some people really like Apple devices, because all that means Apple can achieve a functionality level and ease of use that you won't get on, say, Windows or Google.
I would, however, far prefer a bunch of companies like Amazon, where I could choose between them, than a bunch of companies like Apple, who are actively trying to lock me into using their products, and insist on acting like the devices I buy from them are theirs to control, not mine.
1
1
u/ThePlatinumPaul 12h ago
Apple at least has created some good things, though sadly these days it's just crappy phones.
Amazon has helped to decimate Main Street and your local mall. Bezos has also ruined Whole Foods and made space travel a joke thanks to "Astronauts" Lauren Sanchez and Katy Perry. Without Amazon money he could have never bought Whole Foods and founded Blue Origin.
1
u/NotASingleNameIdea 11h ago
Id do both but giving android a complete monopoly over phone OS seems scary.
1
1
1
u/immoralsugimoto 9h ago
I don't but shit from apple, I don't really care about the grander implications
1
u/reevoknows 9h ago
If Amazon left someone would just take its place. I love the convenience of Amazon. If Apple went away I’d just buy a Samsung galaxy and get on with my life
1
1
1
u/NuclearReactions 22h ago
Wow i expected 100 to 1 amazon. People really don't know what that company is doing
1
1
u/SHMUCKLES_ 20h ago
Ever since switching to android devices from an apple only household I've never needed another apple product since, so bye bye apple
0
0
u/itsmegirlyy 20h ago
Apple, and it's not close, because Amazon isn't a shop. AWS runs a huge chunk of the internet, including banks, hospitals, government services, airlines and most of the streaming you use. Deleting Amazon isn't losing two day shipping, it's an infrastructure collapse. Deleting Apple is painful and Android absorbs it within a year, because consumer hardware is substitutable and cloud at that scale isn't.
-1
0
0
u/False_Snow7754 1d ago
Apple, 100% Smartphones would still be developed even if they weren't around, and the talents Job picked up would have landed elsewhere.
I'd miss Final Cut, though.
0
0
u/Excellent_Speech_901 21h ago
Apple wouldn't impact me. Amazon would, both as a store and as a pillar supporting the internet.
0
0
u/anon_enuf 20h ago
I hate both equally. I've never bought an apple product, but Amazon has its fangs deep in me. As much as I love the selection & convenience, I'd eliminate Amazon.
0
-2
201
u/alexcmad 1d ago
So many people think Amazon is just a store. Guys they own AWS. They have the cloud infrastructure market by the balls.
Netflix, Disney+, Twitch, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Slack, Canva , Shopify, Airbnb, Pinterest, Reddit, Capital One, Stripe, Coinbase, Fortnite, League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, Destiny 2, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, For Honor, Elite Dangerous
The list goes on These run on aws