Apple Continues to Top Overall Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Index

Apple's iPhones continue to rank highest when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to new data shared today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Apple held its top spot with a customer satisfaction rating of 82 out of 100, up one percent from 81 in 2019. Apple just edged out Samsung, which earned an overall customer satisfaction rating of 81. According to ACSI, iPhone owners are more satisfied with battery life than in previous years.

Apple in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro added bigger batteries and introduced significantly improved battery life.

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 came to satisfaction rankings based on individual smartphones, however, Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 edged out Apple devices with a score of 85.

The Galaxy S9+, the Galaxy S10, and Apple's 2018 XS Max all earned customer satisfaction scores of 84. Apple's 2019 iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Max earned a scores of 82, while the iPhone 11 Pro earned a score of 81.

Apple and Samsung together dominated the individual brand rankings, and 17 of the 18 models that earned a score of 80 or above came from either Samsung or Apple.

The number-one phone is Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 with an ACSI score of 85. The Note 9 rates best in class for both phone features and video quality. The Galaxy S9+ and S10 follow at 84, tied with Apple's iPhone XS Max. All of these models are older, released in 2018, with the exception of the S10. All four also have screen sizes of 6.1 inches or more.

Today's report also covered customer satisfaction with mobile network operators. T-Mobile took the lead and Sprint came in last, though the data collected ahead of when the merger between the two companies was completed.

In network quality rankings, Verizon came in first, followed by AT&T, with T-Mobile taking the third spot.

The ACSI's Wireless Service and Cellular Telephone report is based on interviews with 27,346 customers chosen at random and contacted by email between April 15, 2019 and March 20, 2020. Survey data was entered into ASCI's "cause-and-effect econometric model," which is designed to estimate customer satisfaction as the result of survey-measured inputs of customer expectations, perceptions of quality, and perceptions of value.