Apple's iPhone SE Tops Annual Customer Satisfaction Report

Americans are more satisfied with Apple’s iPhone SE than its larger-screen rivals

apple iphone se tops annual customer satisfaction index 004 — Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

While larger screens seem to be dominating the smartphone market, the iPhone SE took first place in the Annual Customer Satisfaction Index — receiving a score of 87 out of 100. The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and iPhone 7 Plus trailed closely behind.

The ASCI measures customer satisfaction scores from May 2016 to April 2017, and the results are based on random interviews with a little more than 36,000 customers in the U.S. The iPhone SE’s top marks suggest consumers may be looking for smartphones that are not only smaller, but also less expensive.

The lineup of devices largely consists of products from Samsung and Apple — illustrating the dominance the two companies have on the U.S. market — but there are also a few surprises, such as LG’s G4 and the Moto G, which scored 73 and 75, respectively. The Galaxy S8 isn’t listed here, as it was just released last month.

The ASCI report also includes customer satisfaction data from other sectors, such as wireless carriers. Out of the big four carriers in the U.S., Verizon came first, and AT&T was last. Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint improved their customer satisfaction scores, but T-Mobile lost a percentage point, finishing second to last. More surprisingly, the big four were all beat out by smaller carriers such as TracFone Wireless and U.S. Cellular.

In terms of smartphone brands, Apple reigns king again at 81 percent, unchanged from last year. Microsoft Mobile, which offered Nokia Lumia devices, is shockingly tied for second place with Samsung — Microsoft hasn’t released a Windows phone in nearly two years, so it’s safe to say people were satisfied with their devices despite the phones’ lagging popularity. Samsung, like Apple, also remained unchanged with its score of 80 — a notable feat considering the Galaxy Note 7 recall last year. HTC jumped a percent, while Lenovo’s Motorola dipped a little.

While ease of text messaging and making calls, as well as phone design remained top scorers in the customer satisfaction report, battery life is still at the bottom of the list — though it posted a 1 percent improvement to a score of 76.

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