Apple Devices Rank #1 in PC and Tablet Customer Satisfaction in 2020

[MacRumors]

Apple's Macs and iPads continue to have the highest satisfaction score among PC and tablet makers in 2020, according to new data shared today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

In the 2020 Household Appliance and Electronics Report, Apple earned an ACSI score of 82, a one point drop from the score that it earned in 2019. Apple's satisfaction score beat out Samsung (81), Acer (78), Amazon (78), ASUS (77), Dell (77), HP (77), and others.

The score includes laptops, tablets, and desktop machines, but when splitting them out, Samsung and Apple are tied for customer satisfaction when it comes to tablets, according to the ACSI. Apple and Samsung also dominate laptop rankings, while there are narrower margins for desktop machines.

When it comes to overall customer satisfaction ratings across all manufacturers, desktop PCs, notebooks, and tablets still lag behind overall smartphone satisfaction, with desktops continuing to have the highest average satisfaction ratings.

The overall industry rankings mimic results from the cell phone industry, where Apple and Samsung have long been locked in a two-way battle at the top for customer satisfaction. Despite slipping 1%, Apple leads the PC industry with an ACSI score of 82 that matches its rating in the cell phone industry. Samsung again holds second place, just a point lower at 81--a score that also matches its cell phone rating.

Both Apple and Samsung have shown high and stable customer satisfaction for the past five years--separated by just a point in all but one of those years. Apple continues to beat the field across the entire customer experience, receiving its highest mark for design. Samsung shines when it comes to value, rating best in class among all PC makers.

Factors that influence customer satisfaction ratings include design, graphics and sound quality, availability of accessories, software and apps, ease of operation, system crashes, and processor speed.

To create its scoring system and compile device scores, the ACSI uses data from interviews with 14,698 customers to analyze customer satisfaction with personal computers, computer software, household appliances, TVs, and more. Customers surveyed were asked to evaluate their experiences with recently purchased products of the largest manufacturers.

Article Link: Apple Devices Rank #1 in PC and Tablet Customer Satisfaction in 2020

 

[I7guy]

There seems to be a gap between what is being said in some threads regarding the way Apple is handling the Macs and the reported satisfaction of the ACSI. Either some of the issues are overblown or the ACSI proprietary algorithms didn't quite hit the nail on the head with the overall score.

 

[CJ Dorschel]

Really, though?

welllll...

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

I reckon these statistics are skewed by iPad users. The iPad is a genuinely fantastic tablet and I wholeheartedly recommend them, but my Mac using friends are increasingly frustrated with the experience.

 

[ghanwani]

How is it that 74 to 76, 76 to 74, and 77 to 75 represents a change of 3?

 

[mi7chy]

Amazon branded computers? Sounds like another JD Power pay-to-play marketing.

 

[LeeW]

Within my personal/business circles there are lots of Mac users, hundreds that I have regular contact with and despite all you see on this forum, the feedback is positive other than a couple of outliers due to faulty keyboards and other knows issues. So I am not surprised Apple does so well.

 

[Seanm87]

There seems to be a gap between what is being said in some threads regarding the way Apple is handling the Macs and the reported satisfaction of the ACSI. Either some of the issues are overblown or the ACSI proprietary algorithms didn't quite hit the nail on the head with the overall score.

The former I imagine based on how dramatic people on here can be.

 

[koil]

I can't help but to think that part of the decline could be from holdouts upgrading from pre-2016 machines and finding that even post-Butterfly there is unfortunately a lot not to like about current MacBook Pro's. *cough* TouchBar *cough cough*

 

[PickUrPoison]

I reckon these statistics are skewed by iPad users. The iPad is a genuinely fantastic tablet and I wholeheartedly recommend them, but my Mac using friends are increasingly frustrated with the experience.

I don’t disagree. But a day or two a year on a Windows machine is enough to snap me back into reality. The grass on the other side of the fence is only spray-painted greener.

Being the designated family computer nerd is no bed of roses...

 

[darngooddesign]

Seems about right, I've almost always been happy with the various Apple things I own.

 

[citysnaps]

Seems about right, I've almost always been happy with the various Apple things I own.

Same here. Feels legit.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I’m surprised Apple and Samsung are tied for tablets. What’s that all about?

 

[Nebulance]

How is it that 74 to 76, 76 to 74, and 77 to 75 represents a change of 3?

My hunch is that they are rounding up; when you calculate the percent difference between the two, it is (for example):

(76-74)/74 = 0.027 => 2.7% ~ 3%.

 

[GeoStructural]

Seems about right, I've almost always been happy with the various Apple things I own.

Same. In particular with my iPhones, iPads and iPods. I have been able to pass them on to family members and other than some battery issues they work fantastic. My father still has an iPod I gave to him in 2011.

Macs I am not 100% satisfied, I admit, but you cannot deny the quality of the exterior, the screen, and how they went out of their way to improve the keyboard.

 

[QuarterSwede]

I don’t disagree. But a day or two a year on a Windows machine is enough to snap me back into reality. The grass on the other side of the fence is only spray-painted greener.

Being the designated family computer nerd is no bed of roses...

Man isn’t this the truth. I’ll take Catalina even over having to maintain a Windows PC any day.

 

[CJ Dorschel]

In all seriousness there seems to be uncertainty with the direction of Mac systems as Apple moves towards ARM processors. While there are many pros moving in this direction (power, efficiency, control over production cycle, etc), many in the business sector are nervous as Intel systems allowed for multi-purpose use with businesses investing heavily in MacBook’s as they offered more for the money. As arm-based Mac’s won’t allow for dual booting into Windows and other OS’s, thus essentially returning to Power-PC era Apple, many in the business sector that view Mac’s as 2-in-1 systems as they need Windows for work are nervous investing in Apple longterm. Unless Microsoft decides to push out a full ARM based version of Windows and Apple works to make it a smooth transition (which is a HUGE if as unlike the joint venture announced between the two when Jobs returned in the late 90’s and Intel CPU’s became the primary driver there is no monetary incentive for either in this instance), the business sector is very nervous investing in Mac’s.

I realize some may doubt these facts or question them yet it’s become a very common concern and Apple has been pushing into the business market for a long while. As MacBook’s will most likely be the first Mac’s to fully transition to ARM and they’re the Mac most use for personal and business needs, Apple’s transition to ARM will be a bumpy road and will impact Apple’s marketshare and customer satisfaction as apps that now run on Windows and Mac’s won’t as businesses will also have to decide whether it is worth investing time and money in production. Rosetta emulation will be very limited as this isn’t like the move towards Intel; in this instance apps will either adapt to ARM or not. Before Mac’s limited apps to PowerPC then opened Mac’s up to more. This will negatively impact Apple customer satisfaction.

When Steve Jobs released the first MacBook Air, Apple worked closely with Intel on new CPU’s. While Intel has dropped the ball over the years I can’t help feel as though Apple could have kept closer development with Intel on in-house development. Perhaps Intel would have provided better CPU’s thus pushing off the need to transition to ARM. Who knows? I’m personally nervous about it having lived through the PowerPC era and loving the move to Intel. It was a major factor in Mac’s becoming popular, not just from the iPod and iPhone being cross platform and giving non-Mac users a taste of Apple‘s ecosystem. Allowing Windows to run natively was a big factor.

The average consumer won’t understand why the apps they may use the most won’t run on their $2500 Mac and I can see customer satisfaction taking a dive during this transition. Will consumers stay with Apple or will they move towards less expensive Windows systems as function is the predominant focus? I sense Apple knows this is coming hence their focus on iPads, wearables, and streaming services, some of which need work on the customer satisfaction end.

 

[PickUrPoison]

My hunch is that they are rounding up; when you calculate the percent difference between the two, it is (for example):

(76-74)/74 = 0.027 => 2.7% ~ 3%.

Yes, the scores themselves aren’t percentages.

If there had been a change from 50 to 55, that’s a 10% increase, calculated as you so clearly demonstrate by showing your work ?

 

[sw1tcher]

Factors that influence customer satisfaction ratings include design, graphics and sound quality, availability of accessories, software and apps, ease of operation, system crashes, and processor speed.

I suppose for some people those things are important. But for myself, I place greater importance on reliability, repairability, and user upgradability.

Apple tends to lag in the latter 2 areas.

 

[hey_augie]

Clearly these folks don't own 2020 Macbook Airs ?

 

[m4mario]

I reckon these statistics are skewed by iPad users. The iPad is a genuinely fantastic tablet and I wholeheartedly recommend them, but my Mac using friends are increasingly frustrated with the experience.

Are they new users? Cause after getting used to Mac, me and my friends are not able to work on anything else.

 

[Digital Dude]

Apple has done a good job of indoctrinating younger Apple consumers to a different level of quality and service. There was a time when the Apple logo represented the pinnacle of both.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I reckon these statistics are skewed by iPad users. The iPad is a genuinely fantastic tablet and I wholeheartedly recommend them, but my Mac using friends are increasingly frustrated with the experience.

I’m sure like many in this forum, I own both (my Mac is a mini). I recently tried out the 2020 MBA i5 edition to see if it could replace my 12.9 IPP, but I found myself liking the iPad Pro more at this screen size. Due to the different aspect ratios, the iPad 12.9 actually has more screen area than the 13” MBA. To me, Macs are better when the screen gets larger than this, as you can spread out and multitask a little better. I get using that size Mac when software depends on it, but I don’t have such needs, so iPad becomes easier to use and more flexible in everyday use for me. I liked both products a lot, but not enough to keep both, so I gave the edge to the iPad Pro.

It’s also curious that the 2020 iPad Pro outperforms the 2020 MBA, but I bet a lot of that is due to Intel being way behind schedule on their roadmaps. I may reevaluate the situation when we have ARM-based MBAs, that I assume might even be passively cooled.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Cook often quotes 98% or thereabouts customer satisfaction. So is he talking about phones or some Apple devised metric?

 

[I7guy]

Cook often quotes 98% or thereabouts customer satisfaction. So is he talking about phones or some Apple devised metric?

Or JD Power.
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Apple has done a good job of indoctrinating younger Apple consumers to a different level of quality and service. There was a time when the Apple logo represented the pinnacle of both.

It still does.