Apple loses ground to archrival on smartphone satisfaction

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Apple has lost its customary lead on smartphone customer satisfaction as archrival Samsung has drawn even overall and gone ahead in one area, according to new data.

New findings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) show Apple’s rating went up a point, but Samsung’s rose three points to tie overall and creep ahead on 5G satisfaction.

ACSI data show Apple losing ground to Samsung on smartphone customer satisfaction

Regarding wireless service in general, new data shows customer satisfaction rose 3% to a score of 76 (out of 100), according to ACSI Wireless Phone Service and Cell Phone Study 2023-2024. And at the top, Apple no longer stands alone with its iPhones. Now it shares the perch with Samsung and its Android handsets.

“The arms race continues between Apple (up 1%) and Samsung (up 3%) as both up their game to tie for highest overall satisfaction at 82,” ACSI said.

Here’s how ACSI summarized other findings regarding smartphone makers (Samsung drew even with Apple at 82 but did better on 5G at 83):

• Motorola moves up 3% to meet Google at 77 after the latter dips 1% year over year. The smaller cell phone manufacturers finish last despite improving 1% to an ACSI score of 72.
• Industrywide ACSI improvement reflects the increasing popularity of 5G phones, which outpace legacy technology for customer satisfaction by nearly 10 points (82 to 73). Among 5G customers, Samsung pulls ahead of Apple by a score of 83 to 82. Google and Motorola are each at 78.

The charts below illustrate the state of smartphone customer satisfaction, with Apple and Samsung now tied overall but Samsung pulling ahead by one point over Apple on 5G.