iPhone tops yet another customer satisfaction survey

By Simon Sage
last updated

Just in case we needed any more convincing that people love their iPhones, the American Customer Satisfaction Index has found through recent surveys that Apple's smartphones are leaving customers the happiest. The iPhone scored 83 on their system, compared to to Nokia, LG and HTC who are all tied at 75, Motorola at 73, Samsung at 71, and RIM at a sad 69. The ACSI also looked at U.S. service providers. Topping the list were regional carriers like U.S. Cellular with 76, then Sprint with 71, followed by Verizon with 70, and AT&T and T-Mobile tied at 69.

Lots of other studies have consistently backed up customer satisfaction for the iPhone, but it's always interesting to see just how much of a lead Apple has on the competition. The fact that the competition is nearly ten points suggests it will take a whole lot of work to bring Android and the other platforms up to snuff with iOS.

Do these rankings stack up with the sentiment you see among friends? Is Sprint really ahead of the other three major U.S. carriers?

Source: ACSI via Wired

Simon Sage
Simon Sage

Editor-at-very-large at Mobile Nations, gamer, giant.

17 Comments
  • Well since iOS is dummy proof, it's hard to find someone who isn't familiar with how to use it except for the seniors. Of course it'll be number 1 because the navigation of this platform is very basic and easy to understand/use unlike android where ud have to use for a long time to know everything about the platform.
  • Can you beat the unlimited data plans from Sprint? The service may be spotty but I never have to see if I am about to use up my data. If only I could use my iPad on Sprint...
  • @ricnmar who cares about unlimited internet if when you DO use the internet its crap? I used to be a proud owner of sprint till the internet usage got unbarable... Its so slow that even an iphone 3gs would still go faster on ATT or Verizon's internet then a 4S on sprint. People need to get over the whole unlimited thing. its over. and spint will lost it eventually, not like it does any good now.
  • I couldn't agree more. It doesn't pay to have unlimited if I can get faster speeds on an edge network than on Sprints 3g network. Sprint is in a lot of trouble. It sank millions into the extremely dissapointing wi-max and now has to sink millions into a 4g LTE, they certainly have spotty coverage, it had lost a bundle on it's merger with nextel and had to lay out millions to purchase the iphone. it's network can't handle all the traffic. Besides, anyone who owns an iphone can get all the free data they want. It's called wi-fi and it can be found in thousands of places.
  • I agree. I love my iPhone, and I love Verizon.
  • I'm not surprised by this at all; I've gone thru a lot of phones and have used every mobile OS out there (except Web OS and Symbian) over the past 5 years, and I still say my almost-2-year-old iPhone 4 is the best and most stable and reliable phone I've ever had. It may not do everything I'd like it to do, but it does everything I really need it to do, and does it very well. So I have no immediate plans to retire it from service; I even still have my 5-year-old original iPhone as a backup phone, which is pretty slow by today's standards but still works perfectly.
  • ^ this. it's amazing how many people can't comprehend the value of reliability and stability over features and functions. I've had phones where I could customize to the nth degree and tinker with the OS to minute detail, but this creates instability within the OS and it crashed often. I'll take stability over function any day.
  • True enough, but it's also amazing how many people have put up with major functionality limitations on the iPhone since it was introduced. I couldn't understand why people were flocking to the first iPhones that didn't have half the useful features I had on my Treo that I used on a regular basis. I needed a tool, not a toy.
    Now the iPhone has matured into a real tool, but still, all the functionality isn't there, and Apple still dictates what you do and do not need. Inevitably that leads to issues and frustrations for a lot of people. It's their greatest strength or weakness, depending on what your wants and needs are.
  • I felt the same way when I had my ancient BlackBerry 8320 (the original Curve); I liked the original iPhone, 'cos it was so new and different, but at the time it was ridiculously expensive and couldn't do a lot of what my BB could do (I didn't actually get my original iPhone until way later, when it was older and cheaper). This was why I waited until the iPhone had, as you said, "matured into a real tool" before I finally got one. My iPhone 4 remains my primary "daily driver" device for communication and important work-related stuff, and I'm still generally pretty happy with it after all this time (almost 2 years) that I've had it. iOS still had a few major functionality limitations (mainly with notifications) until iOS 5.0; then it finally felt whole and complete to me. Any remaining limitations are pretty minor to me now. Of course it could still use some improvement, but currently iOS meets all my needs (tho not all my wants) when it comes to phones. Now all I really want in the next iPhone is a bigger screen (4 inches would do). I like the flexibility of Android (and the bigger screens) but I need the stability of iOS. I recently had a Galaxy Nexus but returned it to Google 'cos it was defective; now I'm debating on whether to try another GNex or wait for something else.
  • I wonder if the ACSI was comparing phone to phone or between brands. If between brands HTC/Samsung/LG have a huge range of phones from low-cost to high-end, surely the satisfactory level will be different. Where's iPhone is just 1 device.
  • That's a good point; I'd like to see how high people's satisfaction would be if they were to break it down by make and model, so that all phones would be compared individually and equally. And also with the iPhone, how would the different variants compare; for example, the 4S, the 4 on VZW, the 4 on AT&T, etc.
  • Where do you do these surveys??? Is it only fanboys who are filling them?? I like to fill one. Tipb can you please provide the link or the how to get to the survey?
  • I'm on Sprint in Dallas, TX and I don't have slow internet here. While it's not the same speed that AT&T customers enjoy here, I do not drop calls, have issues and it is rock solid.
    Loving it. Thank you, Sprint!
  • I like iOS, but don't like the iPhone 4. Too heavy, way too slippery, and the home button does not work well 80% of the time.
  • If home button doesn't work then you have the beauty of getting a free exchange from Apple
  • I can believe that iPhone customers are generally the happiest. Although it's close, I can't believe that Sprint's leading the pack when it comes to national carriers. Most people I know in NYC are not fans but are trapped in a contract. If the only reason you're with Sprint is the unlimited data, I would rethink that. Like J said, who cares about unlimited when it doesn't work. It's only a matter of time before Sprint starts throttling heavy data users anyway. And knowing Sprint you probably won't even get a courtesy text alert.
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