Apple Watch Beats Original iPhone and iPad in Customer Satisfaction Among Early Adopters

[kmj2318]

Every time I see the word Beats in a title I think it's about something else. And then I have to reorient myself to what the article is actually about. Am I the only one.

"Apple Watch Beats Original iPhone..." So you're listing Apple products... oh wait I get it.

 

[carrrrrlos]

Three months in, the product is sill in it’s honeymoon phase and there have been no glaring issues - like the radio band for the iPhone 5, or bending - from misuse - for the 6+. We’re seeing early adopters wanting to like their new device, and ‘somewhat satisfied’ shed some light on a bit of buyers remorse.

 

[LordVic]

Why is that the question???

If somebody is "very satisfied" with their Apple Watch purchase, but find that they only need the convenience it provides for them, say... the 3 days per week that they commute for work- does that in some way change their overall satisfaction???

I think it does not & your doom/gloom spin on this positive news is laughable.

while it doesn't change satisfaction, it might change how likely he is to purchase another in the future.

these stats don't all exist independently of eachother. you can't just look at user satisfication and call something a success/failure. you might get 98% satisfied users, but if they're not using it enough for oone reason or another, and 95% won't ever buy another one... then you might have problems if you expect repeat customers as part of your plan.

of course, all hypothetical. you have to look at all the numbers, and we don't have them. its just an interesting statistic to see.

 

[jasonklee]

I have an irrational attachment to the watch. I was an early naysayer but one day I just wanted one so I ended up buying one for me and one for my girlfriend. I have to say that it's been a indispensable tool. Inappropriate doodles notwithstanding, I've found it more functional than any computer I've owned in the sense that the form factor demands quicker and simpler interactions. I noticed I'm working differently. I'm not so glued to my iPhone or iPad. Continuity has been a life and time saver.

And the activity tracking is a great boon. Lost 15 pounds myself and after losing 100 pounds initially, my girlfriend has struggled with the last 30 or so pounds but the watch has her determined to finish her goal: 10 pounds lost since getting her watch. So count us in the very satisfied group.

 

[imwoblin]

I dunno, it would be nice if Apple would post sales figures to get a gauge on movement.
I purchased both the Sport and the Stainless and returned the Stainless. I'm torn because at the end of the day, as much as I like the idea of quick glances and small bits of info, it's redundant and my Submariner doesn't need to put on a charger every night...

 

[Tycho24]

Kind of surprising considering all the people selling the Watch as soon as it's landed on their doormat. Myself included btw.

Right, right....
The fact that they literally couldn't make enough to keep up with demand & opportunistic early buyers had a ready and willing marketplace to scalp their watches at a tidy profit CLEARLY should have translated into a lower satisfaction rate.

No wait... that is the most insane conclusion one could possibly come to.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Three months in, the product is sill in it’s honeymoon phase and there have been no glaring issues - like the radio band for the iPhone 5, or bending - from misuse - for the 6+. We’re seeing early adopters wanting to like their new device, and ‘somewhat satisfied’ shed some light on a bit of buyers remorse.

I've seen many glaring issues reported, from erratic heart beat tracking to freezing apps to incredibly slow third-party apps, as well as terribly basic fitness tracking.

The common knowledge seems to be that if you are a serious athlete, you need a different wearable.

 

[Zxxv]

Couldn't find iPad 1, but iPad 2 was 71% very satisfied.

New iPad 3rd Gen - 81% satisfied

3 months later - you ****ing bastards!!!!!

haha

 

[Soccertess]

"y. You aren't an owner, just a predator I guess.

.

90% sure he meant that he sold it because he wasn't satisfied.

 

[nagromme]

TechPinions is smart people. Look up their podcast and listen for 15 minutes before you reject their conclusions or methods.

They look at Apple with a critical eye, they follow other companies too, they have long experience, their methods are sound, they admit what they don't know, and they don't overstate their case for attention. In short, all analysts ought to be like them!

 

[Tycho24]

while it doesn't change satisfaction, it might change how likely he is to purchase another in the future.

these stats don't all exist independently of eachother. you can't just look at user satisfication and call something a success/failure. you might get 98% satisfied users, but if they're not using it enough for oone reason or another, and 95% won't ever buy another one... then you might have problems if you expect repeat customers as part of your plan.

of course, all hypothetical. you have to look at all the numbers, and we don't have them. its just an interesting statistic to see.

It is MUCH too early to try to guess what percentage of "very satisfied" customers are planning to purchase the next gen Apple Watch.
And honestly, has little to do with its success. Example: if you are PERFECTLY satisfied with your iPad, and thus- only need a new one every 5 years.... in my mind this makes the product a success, NOT a failure.

 

[solamar]

I've seen many glaring issues reported, from erratic heart beat tracking to freezing apps to incredibly slow third-party apps, as well as terribly basic fitness tracking.

The common knowledge seems to be that if you are a serious athlete, you need a different wearable.

• Freezing apps? Not seen that yet
• We've known for a while that if the activity app is not running, the heart rate sensor only operates while your not moving to keep from killing battery life.. thats by design.
• 3rd party apps running over bluetooth.. doesn't count because, yeah, that was known before people even started buying.. and we've known local apps are coming.
• Basic fitness tracking? umm.. what planet are you from? Oh, planet TROLL! next to planet hulk, where the hulk rejects go!

If it's common knowledge, then someone forgot to mention to most 'serious' athlete's.. oh.. wait, are you saying you can't be serious if you use one? ouch.. brand bigot much?

 

[LordVic]

It is MUCH too early to try to guess what percentage of "very satisfied" customers are planning to purchase the next gen Apple Watch.
And honestly, has little to do with its success. Example: if you are PERFECTLY satisfied with your iPad, and thus- only need a new one every 5 years.... in my mind this makes the product a success, NOT a failure.

oh yeah, I Completely agree with you. Anyone who is screaming "failure" or "success" right now is basing it on emotion and conjecture with severe lack of data.

We don't know actual numbers. We don't know how it fares up over time, we don't know lengevity and failure rate,s we don't even know Apple's plans for future updates / upgrades. and NONE of us know what Apple's budgeting for their own measure of success/failure is!

we just know, that in a survey of about 1000 people, the general satisfaction rates (and don't even know the questions? i'll have to read further)

judging now would be... silly.

Maybe it's just the Analyst in me, but there's absolutely zero way to jump to any conclusions yet.

 

[ralphdaily]

I'm an Apple fan but returned my watch to the Apple store at two weeks. There was another guy in line behind me to return his. Looks like the survey picked up only those who kept their watch.

 

[Tycho24]

90% sure he meant that he sold it because he wasn't satisfied.

Lol, try some critical thinking then!!!!!!!
You believe he was dissatisfied "as soon as it's landed on their (his) doormat"??
Hahahahahha! I trump your 90% surety with my 100% surety. He intended to scalp it prior to receiving it.

 

[HenryDJP]

How about that. .but still a flop of course

I wouldn't necessarily call your post creditable especially since your signature shows mostly new Samsung equipment and one old iPad.

 

[The Game 161]

I wouldn't necessarily call your post creditable especially since your signature shows mostly new Samsung equipment and one old iPad.

That will be changing soon: ) getting the air 2 next week and likely the 6 plus S
When it's out

Like the best of both worlds. Will still use my bigger note 12.2 and my edge but I miss the bigger screen

Want to give apple a try again

 

[Tycho24]

oh yeah, I Completely agree with you. Anyone who is screaming "failure" or "success" right now is basing it on emotion and conjecture with severe lack of data.

We don't know actual numbers. We don't know how it fares up over time, we don't know lengevity and failure rate,s we don't even know Apple's plans for future updates / upgrades. and NONE of us know what Apple's budgeting for their own measure of success/failure is!

we just know, that in a survey of about 1000 people, the general satisfaction rates (and don't even know the questions? i'll have to read further)

judging now would be... silly.

Maybe it's just the Analyst in me, but there's absolutely zero way to jump to any conclusions yet.

Yup yup!
I'm excited about wearables, but realize they are in their EXTREME infancy. I'm glad I'm in on the ground floor, but really understanding of the fact that this is like my Palm Pilot was- expensive for what it did, but a good intro to the future of personal tech.

 

[iSee]

That's a disingenuous conclusion to make from this survey.

I'm more inclined to look at the detail:

Only 66% are very satisfied.
31% are somewhat satisfied.

I'm pretty sure that the very satisfied rates for the iPad were much higher than that. As such, this is the most disappointing reception for an Apple product in the post-Steve Jobs era, and probably the worst customer satisfaction rating for a new product since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90s.

But I guess that sales have been dismal and the return rate substantial, so this is a desperate scrap to cling to.

Hey, why use readily available numbers when you can just guess!?

Here's a link to a survey for the original iPad that shows a 91% satisfaction rate:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/survey-ipad-customer-satisfaction-is-at-91/

Indeed, "very satisfied" was higher than the Apple Watch, at 74% (but not "much" higher). So 8% more very satisfied yet 6% fewer unsatisfied.

Also, the practice of combining "very" and "somewhat" to measure satisfaction isn't a statistical trick. It's common practice in these types of surveys. It's fair to dig into the numbers, of course, but it's not "disingenuous" at all to report a satisfaction rate this way. It would actually be misleading to report only the "verys" as satisfied.

I think you're letting your preconceived notions color your interpretation of these results. This is a very good result, especially for v1 of a wholly new form-factor. Right now the sever limitations on 3rd-part apps is really holding the Apple Watch back -- there are only a few things it's really good at. Once real 3rd-party apps are available, look out.

 

[LordVic]

Yup yup!
I'm excited about wearables, but realize they are in their EXTREME infancy. I'm glad I'm in on the ground floor, but really understanding of the fact that this is like my Palm Pilot was- expensive for what it did, but a good intro to the future of personal tech.

Glad you're satisfied.

I likely wouldn't buy it myself for my own Subjective reasons (not the style of watch I would wear), but we need early adopters willing to buy things for the market / industry to see that there is a market, so that more options and choices can be made that do fit into more peoples wants/desires.

I've stopped being an early adopter cause I'm cursed. Betamax, HD-DVD, WindowsCE, I keep buying the things that don't end up being successful

 

[Kroo]

Why is it so impossible for people to believe that a very well design, very well built, and well liked product could also be a flop?

As I typed that, I was reminded of the Sega Dreamcast. It had better graphics than any other game console out at the time. It was the first game console with a built-in modem for online multiplayer. Not to mention dozens of other innovations. Everyone that had one absolutely loved it. Yet, it is considered a huge flop.

Maybe the pricing isn't quite right. Maybe some of the functionality is released too soon - there is a "right time" for new features to really flourish. Maybe the product is amazing, but it is a solution in search of a problem.

Sometimes great products flop. It's not impossible.

And how is it a flop? No official sales figures have been released at all, unless you are referring to that rubbish report that came out two weeks ago. It was from a small sample of people who agreed to have their e-tickets tracked, and low and behold, tracking tickets dropped at the same time the watch went on sale in stores, but it was reported as a huge drop in sales. Now if you can point to some sales figure to show us how it's a flop, your comment is just an opinion.

 

[ohsnaphappy]

Well Apple hasn't surveyed me about the Apple Watch. I really love it as a fitness band. But for everything else, not so much. Siri is extremely frustrating. I literally have zero apps installed, don't care about them at all. I only use two glances. Deleted the rest. The whole watch is very laggy - you tap on things 2-3 times trying to get something to happen.

I never scroll with the digital crown - complete gimmick. I almost never press the friends button.

However, I love love love it as a fitness band, especially since I'm OCD and I'm obsessed with my filling my circles. I like taking phone calls on it. I like the many complications. I love the music glance. I love getting texts on it. Although replying to a text only seems to work 50% of the time because Siri does NOTHING so so much. Unlike the phone where Siri is perfect for me.

 

[Alenore]

You mean a group of people who actually signed up on a website dedicatd to Apple Watch likes the Apple Watch ?
Color me surprised.

 

[Lesser Evets]

I doubt there are many Apple products that don't garner appreciation or satisfaction from their owners...

Satisfaction doesn't equal usefulness or necessity or a desire to own.

 

[Kroo]

Is there any reason Apple couldn't decide to announce Apple Watch numbers at any point? Does the fact that they had said they'd just be grouping it in with Other mean that they can't decide to change their mind and announce them separately? (Not sure if there's some public trading rules that would prohibit it or something.)

Maybe you should ask samsung the same question. They don't post sales figures, just shipments. Apple always post sales figures at quarterly intervals, and no, its not a legal requirement to tell anyone what you've made, merely an obligation to your shareholders.