2. No, iOS people are not switching. They are staying but not buying newer models due to lack of innovation. Personally I would never switch to the cesspool named Android. Laggy, malware infested garbage
I switched to Android due to no 4" phone options, there's less options on the Android side too though. And the incredible push of Apple Music and removal of the headphone jack were just the icing on the cake of switching.
However, the experience of the Samsung Galaxy S8 (which was just to get me familiar with the platform while I looked for a better phone) was incomprehensibly poor. People keep telling me that it's Samsungs software that's crappy but it's really unacceptable for a flagship phone to be this crappy.
At least Google isn't making your phone laggy on purpose! (too soon?)
Joking aside, there are a lot of sketchy, crappy Android devices, but there are also some decent ones (e.g. straight from Google). I suspect you've only been exposed to the crappy ones.
Google has tried to release a phone before and they fail hard. The phone stops getting updates. If you want an android device with updates you have to get a BlackBerry.
Android OS is horrible because it's always different. From release to release. From phone to phone. Everyone has their own little tidbit to add and makes it non uniform.
In iOS land, 2 years is just getting started for OS updates - generally you get 5 years or so. That's one of the reasons so many iPhones get handed down and resold compared to Android devices.
Hence the stalled iphones sales growth. I don't disagree that having a phone that is supported by the manufacturer for so long is a good thing, I very much agree with this! But if the manufacturer loses incentive to do so, then don't expect them to continue doing it for long.
However, the experience of the Samsung Galaxy S8 (which was just to get me familiar with the platform while I looked for a better phone) was incomprehensibly poor. People keep telling me that it's Samsungs software that's crappy but it's really unacceptable for a flagship phone to be this crappy.