Sounds like you need new colleagues. Why would you wish to be part of such a snobbish group? I fail to see why anti-trust law should be brought to bear on issues concerning teen fads. How about wearing the right kind of sneakers? Branded purses, handbags? Parkas? Should uniformity reign universal across all consumer products lest someone, somewhere be excluded to a faddish distinction?
As a European living in the US, I've found that it's nearly impossible to get on American's group chats without an iPhone. Hence I've had to shift my friend groups to be mostly other foreigners.
The Americans all say that to get in, you need an iPhone. So definitely a smart monopolistic strategy from Apple.