For the first time ever, Microsoft has beaten the iPad in J.D. Power’s latest tablet satisfaction rankings that found the Surface has a higher number of younger customers than its competitors.
Apple has dominated J.D. Power’s rankings over the last few years, but according to the popular ranking service, Microsoft’s offerings were just a little bit better thanks to best-in-class design, productivity and accessory use.
The new Surface Pro tablets from Microsoft earned a top score of 855 out of a 1000, just barely beating Apple who came in second with 849 points. Samsung came in a close third with 847, while Aces, Asus, Amazon and LG all lagged in the back.
To grade the companies, J.D. Power surveyed 2,238 tablet owners who have had their device for less than a year. Tablets were grade on five categories: performance, ease of operation, features, styling and design, and cost.
“The Microsoft Surface platform has expanded what tablets can do, and it sets the bar for customer satisfaction,” said Jeff Conklin, JD Power’s VP of service industries. “These tablet devices are just as capable as many laptops, yet they can still function as standard tablets. This versatility is central to their appeal and success.”
Microsoft took the number one spot largely thanks to top rankings in style and design. It had the highest performance for tablets in terms of size, quality of materials used and attractiveness of design.
Here’s the full scorecard:
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
19 responses to “Microsoft tops Apple in tablet satisfaction rankings”
Surface is NOT tablet. it’s ultrabook with desktop OS.
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True, but Win10 has “tablet” mode, in which it behaves like a tablet. Because it is a desktop OS, it requires more CPU and memory to behave like one, that is true.
W10 tablet mode is a joke. 8.1 was much better.
I feel like the issue here is that Apple’s and Microsoft’s ideas of what a tablet is are quite different. I’ve never thought of the Surface as a tablet. It’s a hybrid device in it’s own category because it looks like a thick tablet, but runs a desktop/laptop OS and desktop/laptop CPU. It definitely does more than an iPad, but it also is heavier, thicker, and shorter battery life in exchange. So I think the iPad will always be losing to it from now on, but that’s because it doesn’t directly compete with it.
Undoubtedly, the Surface Pro can do much more than the iPad Pro, but the form factor is significantly the same. The iPad Pro measures 12 x 8.68 x .27 and weighs in at 1.59 lbs. The Surface Pro 4 measures 11.5 x 7.93 x .33 and weighs in at 1.73 lbs for the i5 or i7 processor models. Battery life for either is roughly the same.
Let’s face it, the iPad Pro was introduced to compete with the Surface, but they forgot to add simple functions that would make it more productive – USB port, SD card port – while requiring fewer peripheral devices to be hauled along with it… a case with an easel, keyboard, and pocket for the “pencil.”
I’ve got a Surface Pro 4 and although I’ve got Adobe Creative Cloud, full Microsoft Office, Camtasia, and several other apps I can’t load on a tablet, I also use it for consuming content – internet, videos, Flipboard, etc. Why would I own a separate tablet just to do those things? Or a powerful tablet that could do some but not all productivity tasks?
The SP4 has not only replaced my tablet and laptop, but my desktop as well. I just dock it and I’ve got a large-screen monitor, full-size keyboard and mouse. With 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, why not? Duplicating the screen instead of extending it allows me to lay the SP4 flat on the table, grab the pen, and use it like a Wacom tablet, but with content visible there and on my 27″ monitor.
Not surprised at all at this. The market is telling us that people actually DO want hybrid devices. So a Surface is NOT a tablet because it doesn’t have an IOS interface? Actually, its a USEFUL tablet. You can actually touch it like an iPad AND also be productive. What a concept!
I still remember Apple’s other firm positions. A large iPhone? No way. Who wants a phablet?! You can’t cover it with your thumb. It’ll never work. Right. Now, they’re convinced no-one wants a touch Mac. I suppose someone forgot to tell the AirBar folks that?! :)
Sure hope Tim, Jony, Phil, Greg and others wake up and look at what the market is telling them. Might be a rude awakening, but also might end with with Apple producing a useful “tablet”.
There is no Microsoft tablet. They have a hybrid device but no tablet.
Well well well …losers apple always Market the iPad as a pc replacement ..and it’s not …so please don’t come crying
Loser Apple ? Really. This is the best you can come up with. Talk about loser.
Brother don’t get me started on this…im not a fan but I have a master on business and a bachelors on it project management …the only device apple really sells is the iPhone..reason why all the money..why the cheaper. Newest iPad…hummn ..no selling ….lol wow …read more.
And still with all those degrees – acting like a prime A-hole……
with out disrespecting, losing is just a word, sometimes we win, sometimes we lose…do not disrespect…
Satisfaction with Microsoft Surface is so high that Microsoft struggles to sell even 1M surface devices in a quarter !
That’s because Microsoft designed the Surface as a proof-of-concept device, hoping that OEM partners would take the idea and run with it. The Surface Pro 4 and iPad Pro, both with 256GB drives will run about $1200, putting them out of reach for many would-be buyers. Microsoft doesn’t seem to mind if others, such as Asus, Dell, and Lenovo use the concept to offer low-cost alternatives.
Different business model – With software licensing, Microsoft will make $ on hardware their competitors sell, while Apple is a hardware company first, with proprietary software to run it.
Apple had better look out. I’ve been a loyal Apple user for 10 years now, but reports like this make me take a second look at the competition. If the battery life wasn’t so woeful, I’d be taking a serious look at the Surface, but I simply can’t afford a battery fail. I hope Apple can get it’s stuff together. I understand their philosophy to keep mobile and desktop OSes separate, but they need to be smart about it.
But the software for Windows is horrible compared to MacOS. I have tried to make the switch but I just can’t. There are so many good apps that I just can’t find acceptable substitutes for. And many are simple apps like DayOne, PhotoSweeper and PDF Expert that I use daily but can’t find anything close to them on Windows. And the software looks so outdated on Windows. Oh, and I hate the apps that are created for touch. All the elements such as buttons are so big. They take up so much room.
TIL Surface is a tablet. :/
Typical microsoft – they always focus on “business” and “productivity”.
No fun and no general use at all.
If I buy an iPad I get a machine that does it all; Business and Fun stuff.
Buying an Surface is just getting the boring part….
MS has never understodd that sometimes paople are clocked out – we don’t work around the clock.
life is a LOT more then the Office suite….
FUN act; Surface is literally Sour-Face in swedish :-)