Apple Tops J.D. Power Smartphone Satisfaction Rankings By Significant Margin

[Stella]

This is States only.. we need worldwide figures.

But, still, this is good for Apple in its own country.

Apple is doomed.

/s

Yep, definitely. By 2014 Apple and its billion will be but a distance memory.
/s

 

[fontman]

Really , Who cares

Really , Who cares, JD powers pay for rating ,

 

[QCassidy352]

I don't get it. I've been reading the iPhone forum, and I thought iOS was 10 years out of date, and the iPhone was useless because it's 2" too small. Now I see this result, and I gotta tell you, it makes me question whether the random anonymous trolls in the MR iPhone forum really have a good grasp of the market - as crazy as that might sound.

 

[nick_elt]

Strange that despite all the "lack of innovation" (and lack of a 27 inch screen) people are still the most happy with iPhones!

maybe the people that didn't like it have gone elsewhere?

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I don't get it. I've been reading the iPhone forum, and I thought iOS was 10 years out of date, and the iPhone was useless because it's 2" too small. Now I see this result, and I gotta tell you, it makes me question whether the random anonymous trolls in the MR iPhone forum really have a good grasp of the market - as crazy as that might sound.

the reality is most phone buyers of all brands aren't techies and their phone whatever it is, is sufficient and if you don't care too much about features then the iphone prob is best option.

 

[SILen(e]

maybe the people that didn't like it have gone elsewhere?

Yeah, but shouldn't they have become happier now?

Where are all those people who got rid of their iPhones and bought 5" Android devices instead in these kinds of surveys?
They should give raving ratings of their new devices, because of the bigger screen.

But somehow, they don't exist... or only in marginal numbers.

 

[firewood]

Now I see this result, and I gotta tell you, it makes me question whether the random anonymous trolls in the MR iPhone forum really have a good grasp of the market - as crazy as that might sound.

Nah. Their boredom and need for useless specs is indicative of 100% of all consumers worldwide. Thus, this ranking must have been paid for by the only 3 iPhone users left on the planet, and the company with well over $100B in the bank and minting around another $1B in cash profit per week is obviously a failure.

How can I start a business that fails this badly? Please!

 

[srxtr]

AT&T contracts

I currently have 7 devices on my plan

Stepdaughter - iPhone 4
Wife - iPhone 4s
Me - iPhone 5
Stepdaughter - iPad 1
Wife - iPad Mini
Me - iPad 3
Me - iPad Mini

Haha nice. I guess you each pass down the phones once a new model comes out?

 

[Tankmaze]

Apple is doomed.

 

[baryon]

Thus the reason for the iphone 5s. The average user does not care. And the Apple fan will buy regardless. Apple essentially created a cult of followers.
I would not be surprised if iOS remains basically the same because of this recognition. Why change something if people don't complain?

The vast majority of people who use iPhones aren't Apple fans at all, they're regular people who don't really know the difference between iOS and Android, they just got an iPhone because of a friend or they just liked how it looked. These people aren't "loyal" and won't be happy regardless of what Apple does. If they're not happy, they'll get something else next year.

Innovation has to be ahead of people's needs somewhat, but just throwing in useless features is not innovation. You have to wait for a logical, good idea to come along. I have yet to hear any such ideas that the iPhone really needs. Sure, there will be some new things soon, but I doubt they'll change the world, since the world doesn't need changing (yet). Maybe in a year it will make sense to introduce new groundbreaking features again. Maybe right now, there's no such need other than plain boredom.

 

[jm001]

This study was obviously done before the S4 unveiling

Yeah I thought Samsung's approval rating was a bit high.

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maybe the people that didn't like it have gone elsewhere?

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the reality is most phone buyers of all brands aren't techies and their phone whatever it is, is sufficient and if you don't care too much about features then the iphone prob is best option.

Quite true. A colleague of mine was an iPhone user and then switched to the GSIII. She told me when she saw my iPhone 5 that she wishes she hadn't switched. I truthfully told her that I had heard very good things with the GSIII and Android and was puzzled why she wanted to switch back. She said that yes it was a good phone, BUT, for her, it was complicated to use especially with the Samsung UI. She missed the simplicity of iOS. She also missed the iOS keyboard because she explained that her GSIII, even with the 3rd party keyboards was still not as intuitive as the iOS keyboard.

 

[macs4nw]

.....Apple Tops J.D. Power Smartphone Satisfaction Rankings By Significant Margin.....

No surprises here.

 

[photographypro]

ATT users- get a new iPhone EVERY year!

Prepaid plan?

EDIT: I myself have owned 3G, 4, and now 5. 2 year contracts

It is possible to get a new iPhone EVERY year IF your spending PER IPHONE is over $100 a month. I know because I did. Often they only look at the previous 2 or 3 months billing. Once I increased my cell plan to one to get me over $100 two months before the release date, and my eligibility changed so I could get one on release date!

Sometimes if you're close, if you're current spending is over $100 and you almost have $1200 for the year, you can call and talk to someone and get your eligibility changed to a closer date.

 

[photographypro]

Obvious Trolls here

Not everybody buys one, but those who do have an iPhone seem to like it.

Of course, that excludes most of the posters on MR's iPhone Forum!

I find it interesting that we have people here slamming Apple on an APPLE forum. Obviously trolls, because this ISN'T a general cell phone forum, but a MAC rumors forum. Yes, it is possible that someone owns a Mac computer and an Android phone. But if someone is here just to slam Apple, they obviously have nothing better to do.

There is a very intelligent article from Andy Ihnatko about his switch from iPhone to Android: http://www.techhive.com/article/2030042/why-i-switched-from-iphone-to-android.html.

He likes his Android because he can customize it the way he wants to, more than his iPhone. But he misses some of his favorite apps, Siri, and other things. He also describes how initially he had to make many changes when he first got his Android to get it to perform the way he wanted, and initially the phone came with some crap programs he had to discard. He did say that an iPhone works much better "out of the box".

I think all the bickering over a cell phone is stupid. Buy what you're happy with. Some people like the customization available with Android, the larger screen, and don't care if the phone is "plasticky". Others want a smooth streamlined user experience out of the box, better and more expensive construction and design, and are willing to pay for it.

 

[jmnikricket]

So Apple has roughly one more person in twenty that is happy with his/her phone, using arbitrarily weighted data with no indication as to the sampling error. JD Power does have a decent reputation though...

It could mean that the difference is simply that one in twenty of Apple users is a fanboy, which accounts for the difference, or that one in twenty is a middle school student jumping on the bandwagon, etc. Or it could mean nothing

 

[XboxMySocks]

"And while other smartphones simply tout large amounts of megapixels, taking great pictures is about so much more."
As a 'photographer' (nary more than a hobbyist, mind you but still), I appreciate this. So many people get caught up in the spec wars... 'ERMAHGERD MAH CAMERA HAZ 13 MEGAPIXELS' well that's awesome. But it doesn't matter how many megapixels it has if the sensor is small and ******, and takes noisy pictures.

 

[lucas107]

Yeah I thought Samsung's approval rating was a bit high.

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Quite true. A colleague of mine was an iPhone user and then switched to the GSIII. She told me when she saw my iPhone 5 that she wishes she hadn't switched. I truthfully told her that I had heard very good things with the GSIII and Android and was puzzled why she wanted to switch back. She said that yes it was a good phone, BUT, for her, it was complicated to use especially with the Samsung UI. She missed the simplicity of iOS. She also missed the iOS keyboard because she explained that her GSIII, even with the 3rd party keyboards was still not as intuitive as the iOS keyboard.

your friends an idiot. there is nothing remotely complicated about the basic use of a sgs3. also prediction wise ios is defiantly behind some 3rd party keyboards.

 

[inajeep]

Those #s are close enough to tell me I'd like any of the top 4 phones.

 

[srxtr]

It is possible to get a new iPhone EVERY year IF your spending PER IPHONE is over $100 a month. I know because I did. Often they only look at the previous 2 or 3 months billing. Once I increased my cell plan to one to get me over $100 two months before the release date, and my eligibility changed so I could get one on release date!

Sometimes if you're close, if you're current spending is over $100 and you almost have $1200 for the year, you can call and talk to someone and get your eligibility changed to a closer date.

Hmm that's interesting, but I don't know if I want to spend over $100 per phone month for my AT&T bill lol.

Currently paying $122 a month for two iPhone 5. No way I'm bumping that to $200 even for 3 months, the difference is almost negligible (maybe a savings of about $100?).

This would have been awesome if I was single though.

 

[Brian Buttplug]

J.D. Power 2013 Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study

Do they make a Wired Smartphone Satisfaction Study too?

 

[inkswamp]

Those #s are close enough to tell me I'd like any of the top 4 phones.

You're not alone in that. Not everyone is so discerning and detail-oriented so sure, the top four might work fine for you. For many of us, the ostensibly small difference in that ranking makes all the difference in the world. It's the difference between a company that crams features in at a breakneck pace to pad out the spec sheet and a company that takes its time and implements features with the kind of care and attention to detail some of us appreciate. To each his own but I'll go with the latter any day of the week.

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your friends an idiot. there is nothing remotely complicated about the basic use of a sgs3. also prediction wise ios is defiantly behind some 3rd party keyboards.

VPN. Unpredictable and needlessly complicated on Android, especially when trying to connect to a Cisco concentrator. And the iPhone: piece of cake. I can name many other examples if you want but I'd like to see how to respond to that one.

I won't argue with your keyboard point because you offer no evidence to back it up but I don't see a lot of complaints about the iOS keyboard. Got some kind of example for me to consider?

 

[Truffy]

Significant margins ?

That's 6.9% difference on average

I'd hardly call that significant.

The average cannot be used, since it includes Apple's contribution...

It's actually much higher than a 6.9% difference because the lowest score is not 0% and the highest score is not 100%. This is actually a pretty big gap.

It's actually not that much bigger. Apple's rating is 855 while its next closest competitor's is 795; a 7% difference.

If all your real competitor's are around 79% satisfaction, with no competitor truly better than the others, it's definitely significant to be at 85% satisfaction.

This is a "There's Apple - and then there's the rest" graph.

It depends on how you define"significant", statistical or otherwise. If the latter, you're often looking at subjective issues, which mean less in generic terms.

 

[BaldiMac]

So Apple has roughly one more person in twenty that is happy with his/her phone, using arbitrarily weighted data with no indication as to the sampling error. JD Power does have a decent reputation though...

It could mean that the difference is simply that one in twenty of Apple users is a fanboy, which accounts for the difference, or that one in twenty is a middle school student jumping on the bandwagon, etc. Or it could mean nothing

The study does not support or imply anything you said here.

It's actually not that much bigger. Apple's rating is 855 while its next closest competitor's is 795; a 7% difference.

As pointed out earlier, you are assuming that the lowest score is zero. That's not necessarily true.

 

[PracticalMac]

OH NOES!!!!

APPLE IS DOOOOOOOMMMmmmmeeed*!!


/sarcasm

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Those #s are close enough to tell me I'd like any of the top 4 phones.

But you'll love the iPhone more.

 

[canman4PM]

1. Good for Apple

2. I still think it should become a crime to make graphs with scales that don't start at zero

Agreed. Consumer Reports does it that way. Makes the differences more realistic. That graphic make is look like the iPhone is about 25% higher rated than the average. The difference is only 5%. Still and All, I have to agree. I've owned an iPhone since the 3G days (4.5 years) and have loved them all. I especially love the cross integration between my iMac, iPad and iPhone. They truly (for the most part) just work.

 

[tbrinkma]

your friends an idiot. there is nothing remotely complicated about the basic use of a sgs3. also prediction wise ios is defiantly behind some 3rd party keyboards.

Out of curiosity, did you post this from your sgs3?

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The average cannot be used, since it includes Apple's contribution...

It's actually not that much bigger. Apple's rating is 855 while its next closest competitor's is 795; a 7% difference.

It depends on how you define"significant", statistical or otherwise. If the latter, you're often looking at subjective issues, which mean less in generic terms.

Actually, to calculate the "difference on average", you need to take a look at the *difference* between the score in question and all of the other scores, and then average *that* value. Or, average the other values and the find the difference between that average and the score in question.

That puts the difference at about 9.4%.

Regardless, it's almost certain that Apple's score is significantly better, statistically speaking, since it's the *ONLY* score that is above average. Being so much better than your competition that you drive the average up above their scores is significant from a non-statistical perspective as well. In fact, Apple's score is likely to be a statistical outlier, though I haven't done the calculations necessary to determine if that's the case for certain.

The lower dividing line is where the average would be without Apple's score. Including Apple, everyone else is below average. Excluding Apple, only RIM/Blackberry and LG are below average.