What you need to know
- Apple has topped a smartphone brand satisfaction index.
- Apple edged out Samsung with an 82% satisfaction rating.
- One Samsung Galaxy phone scored higher than the iPhone however.
A new American customer satisfaction index has revealed that Apple just edges out Samsung for overall brand satisfaction, but that one Samsung Galaxy phone scored higher than iPhone.
According to the index:
For customer satisfaction, Apple (+1% to 82) and Samsung (unchanged at 81) continue to wrangle as a small gain puts Apple on top. Apple's overall iPhone revenue rose 8% year over year in the 2019 holiday quarter with strong sales for its iPhone 11 series, which offers advanced cameras and improved battery life. ACSI data show that Apple customers overall are more pleased with their device's battery life compared to a year ago.
When it comes to specific phones, however, Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 had the highest score for 2020 with 85%, in second place was the S9+ with 84%, and the Galaxy S10 came third with the same score. The Samsung offerings beat out the iPhone XS Max, Apple's highest-rated phone, also with 84%. One interesting point is that Apple's iPhone 11 lineup all scored lower than its predecessors, the iPhone X and the XS Max. The quality of the cellular experience is measured by a range of factors such as the ease of texting and calling, design, navigation, using the OS, features, video and audio quality, and of course, battery life. The cell phone index as a whole rose to 80%, meaning that consumers have never been happier with their smartphones.
The report notes that U.S smartphone replacement cycles are now as long as 36 months and that 5G growth may slow as consumers, impacted by the pandemic, "may be less likely to open their wallets."
