Even the biggest of iPhone fans would admit that the device has become somewhat boring in recent years, but that hasn’t had any impact on loyalty to the Apple brand.
According to a new study, a whopping 92 percent of iPhone owners who plan to upgrade within the next 12 months will choose another Apple smartphone. That’s the highest retention rate among any smartphone maker, and it suggests iPhone 8 will be huge.
The iPad has earned first place in the J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction survey for the second year in a row, just a month after Apple’s iPhone secured the award for the ninth time. The popular slate scored 836 out of a possible 1,000 points having been rated on performance, ease of operation, styling and design, features, and cost.
The satisfaction rates of iPhone users are notorious, an industry best. That’s not surprising, considering Apple makes some of the best devices on Earth and that, for the most part, the competition can’t really measure up.
But while people are satisfied with their iPhones, iOS 6 and, in particular, its buggy, half-formed implementation of Maps has caused a dip in customer satisfaction. It’s not a massive drop, but it’s enough to show that the Maps debacle is tarnishing what is otherwise Apple’s best operating system.
Apple typically score high in brand loyalty and product satisfaction. As a result, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to hear that the new iPad and iPad 2 are leading tablet satisfaction surveys. Nor is it surprising that the iPads aren’t just scoring better than other tablets, they’re kicking some Android butt.
According to the latest numbers from Changewave, 81% of new iPad owners are very satisfied with their devices and while an additional 15% are somewhat satisfied. That means 96% of users can be called happy with the new iPad.
Practically every mobile phone carrier in the U.S. has relied on the iPhone to boost their sales numbers and increase customer satisfaction in recent years (sorry, T-Mobile). It turns out that betting on the iPhone isn’t just great because it gives customers the pretty device they want, but converting users into iPhone owners might mean that they will be more likely to stay with your carrier in the long run even when your service sucks. On the other hand, BlackBerry and Android owners are quicker to jump ship when the service has problems.
For the second year running, AT&T has ranked as the worst carrier in the United States in an annual satisfaction survey.
If Sprint’s new “network enhancements” were designed to quiet complaints by iPhone 4S users, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier may need to return to the drawing board. Following tweaks for peppier 3G downloads, many Sprint customers still complain of turtle-like connections while lusting after Verizon’s faster network.
Despite early grumbling about how it was unveiled, users of Apple’s iPhone 4S are overwhelmingly satisfied with the smartphone, ranking the Siri voice-recognition system as their favorite feature. At 96 percent satisfaction, the iPhone 4S is Apple’s most popular handset, besting even the iPhone 4.
At least it’s now quantifiable: AT&T provides the worst cellphone service in the country, according to a recent customer satisfaction poll.
Consumer Reports hit the streets and asked 50,000 readers across 26 cities to rank cell phone service according to voice service, messaging, internet access and customer support. Verizon came out on top, achieving the top two ranks in customer satisfaction in every category. Then came T-Mobile and Sprint.
AT&T? Dead last. Their highest average rating in any service category was total ambivalence, with most categories rated as poor or terrible.
