Apple's iPhone Wins Yet Another JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey

Apple's iPhone has won the J.D. Power smartphone customer satisfaction survey for a sixth straight time.

The survey ranked Apple smartphones as number one in customer satisfaction, followed by HTC smartphones, Samsung and Motorola. Only Apple and HTC scored "above industry average," according to the survey.

Here are the complete rankings in graph form, with scores out of 1000:

The survey, which is conducted twice a year, took into account 4 factors: "performance (35 percent); ease of operation (24 percent); features (21 percent); and physical design (20 percent)." The iPhone scored highest in "ease of operation" and "features." (Features, according to J.D. Power, includes "how customers rate their smartphone's toggle or navigation wheel, touch screen, stylus, and calendar" as well as "quality of multimedia capabilities and quality of video of the smartphone."

Noticeably absent on this survey is battery life, which appeared on the previous J.D. Power smartphone survey. Last time, the iPhone's battery life lowered Apple's score (though not enough to ever take it out of the top spot).

Other key findings in the J.D. Power survey: 5 ounces appears to be the upper limit that smartphone users will be satisfied with, as devices under that weight scored far higher than those above it. The survey also noted that touchscreen-only phones scored far higher with their owners than phones that combined touchscreens and physical keyboards (bad news for Blackberry, which recently unveiled several touchscreen/keyboard devices).

A next-generation iPhone (or two) is widely expected to be released in early October; and if reports are true that the new device will be thinner and lighter than the previous models, expect Apple to once again grab top honors on the next J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey. According to a recent Mobile Phone Track report, Apple's two current iPhones (the 4 and the 3GS) are already the highest selling smartphones in America, followed by HTC's EVO 4G and Inspire 4G.

HTC is currently suing Apple over smartphone patents. WATCH:

Comments

[JosephTX]

10:17 AM on 09/12/2011

Apple's not a serious tech company, it's a religion. what else is new?

[exPatPatti]

08:11 AM on 09/12/2011

Love my iPhone.

[Abdi S]

08:13 AM on 09/11/2011

Iphone is so overate smartphone, and that's just my opinion. Last year I had iPhone 4 for two weeks so I return, and replace with android phone. Ios is very boring platform to me, therefore ios lacks customization. Android is open OS for especially customization features and is very competitive OS against IOS or WP7 devices.

[Draekia]

02:08 AM on 09/12/2011

To each his own, bud.

[Sunzuki]

05:33 AM on 09/12/2011

Android is just a platform to make sure you keep getting adverts from Google, thats why they really don't give a toss about malware.

[anthonytaurus]

04:55 AM on 09/11/2011

LOL. All this proves is that Apple has great marketing. Seriously, we're talking about a company that considered "copy and paste" to be an upgrade. We're talking about a company that's collectively dumb enough to expose a raw antennae on the outside of their device. And, people are satisfied? "It just works!"

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA...

Of course they're satisfied. It's easy to be satisfied when you don't even have the common sense to be upset about simple features that exist on phones that aren't even "smart" like the ability to hold a phone call.

I tell you what you do to prove my point. Look at what "new features" the iPhone 5 is getting - notification center (BB "Messages"), iMessage (BBM/LiveProfile), Reminders (simple task/to-do list), twitter integration (BB "Social Feeds") and the list goes on of OLD features that are being considered new.

The question is, are they satisfied because they have one of the best phones on the market or are they satisfied simply because it's an Apple product?

Good PR article for Apple tho.

[Draekia]

02:09 AM on 09/12/2011

Sounds like someone's got himself a case of sour grapes. It's okay, kiddo, it gets better.

[anthonytaurus]

10:32 AM on 09/13/2011

The best part of your comment is the part where you CAN'T deny anything I've said. Your only option is to attack the messenger because the message, being the truth, hurts. Good job smart one.

[RecreationalPilot]

12:40 AM on 09/11/2011

Oops... another iPhone ad.

[motherofsons]

08:27 PM on 09/10/2011

It's not a phone it's a little computer. How much do people really talk on their iPhones--not much. But we do love the iPhone for texting, surfing, apps, etc etc.

[PhillyKing]

11:53 PM on 09/10/2011

" How much do people really talk on their iPhones--n­ot much. "... that's mainly because it drops the calls so much most people have given up using it for that purpose...lol

[JohnTheMac]

12:42 AM on 09/11/2011

omg! you're just so clever!

[MiaisAwesome]

11:02 PM on 09/11/2011

L.O.L.

[Channa]

06:24 PM on 09/10/2011

I thought I loved my iPhone. Thank goodness the research proves me right!

[Daw8it]

06:22 PM on 09/10/2011

iPhone rules!

[Sunzuki]

06:13 PM on 09/10/2011

I have used a iPhone 3g, got an Android, sold that and got an iPhone 3GS. Why? Because the phone just works, it's reliable, the UI is miles ahead of Android and it's manufacturer bloatware. I can just use the App store without thinking Why the heck does this Program need access to practically all of my personal data?, Why does this barcode scanner need access to all of my contacts, browsing data, my location, ability to make and receive calls, etc.

Malware is another reason, I think the game is up when you need to install an anti-virus program on your phone. Their is a reason why iOS, Amazon and WP7 strictly control which apps are on their app stores, it's to stop crap like this.

I get OS upgrades when they are released. With the Desire I had, I couldn't get updates less than a year after I bought it, that is joke.

So yeah, iPhone is the best phone because your getting the whole package, rather than a nice phone, a few months of support and an application marketplace which will soon be riddled with spyware, viruses and privacy issues.

[Channa]

06:28 PM on 09/10/2011

You have identified the crux of the matter. It is not about the phone's specs vs. the competition. It it about the whole experience. The apps, the upgrades, the security, the ease of use. Plus it holds it's own on the specs.

[Sunzuki]

06:36 PM on 09/10/2011

I remember having an argument with you about iOS and I was wrong, I think I was fooling myself to be honest. Android is a disaster waiting to happen, in a few years their will be so much bad press about malware, piracy and apps stealing your personal data.

[hypnotoad72]

11:43 PM on 09/10/2011

I own a 3GS and a Samsung Galaxy S.

The Galaxy has much better display quality and sound.

iOS is far more stable - I don't have to reboot nearly as often with my iPhone as I do my Android device.  I've had some issues, but not as many.

Android's OS has a more innovative GUI, including the drag-down overlay showing recent activity by the phone (app updates, media playback button, etc).  And animated wallpapers. 

iOS is protective of battery life - until you download certain games that suck it all away (Monopoly, Polyhedra, etc).  Makes one wonder why Apple bothered whining about Flash sucking away battery life if the games they purportedly spend time looking into have big issues as well. 

Android has Flash, though half the videos I want to load aren't compatible with the mobile edition.  I would say Flash is needed for 5% of the things I use a mobile device for, but it's nice to have SOME functionality when that point comes.

iOS has no Flash compatibility.

Android's OS is great at multitaksing.  I can download updates and go into another app without worrying it's going to stop on me.

iOS pauses all downloads if you click on any app to launch or run.  *facepalm*

I don't know if Android will have its bugs first or if iOS will ever catch up in terms of how to properly integrate true multitasking so downloads in the background won't be halted if I opt to run even the calculator or memo app.

iOS's system updates are virtually single-click and all the data is there when the upgrade is finished.

I've not bothered updating my Galaxy because it involves a lot of manual work.

In terms of app quality, I've bought apps for both and neither side has anything going in its favor.  Badly-written apps, usable apps, etc, both exist.  If anything, Pocket Informant syncs directly with Android's calendar.  The iOS version requires a dedicated database and doesn't integrate with iOS's calendar (this is going back about a year so if Pocket Informant was finally granted access to Apple's calendar, that's great).  But that is why I'm staying with Android - there's more flexibility, despite the downsides.

My next phone will be a Galaxy S II, unless iPhone 5 fixes its existing issues first.  Assuming I bother to upgrade in the first place.

Both have their ups and downs.

But Android's pros (GUI w/dropdown slide menu, real multitasking) manage to outdo iOS's pros for me. 

[PhillyKing]

11:57 PM on 09/10/2011

well put

[RecreationalPilot]

12:41 AM on 09/11/2011

Get an HTC business class phone and you'll have the best of both.

[Mise]

05:14 PM on 09/10/2011

Are you satisfied with YOUR smartphone? I'm satisfied with mine. It makes no difference if they are the same or different, ours are the most satisfying. Do we really need a "poll" to tell us that?

[jabreal00]

04:18 PM on 09/10/2011

I have a friend who swore by his Android phone. He even tried making the argument that his PC laptop was better than my MacBook Pro. Anyways, he's come around. He's trading in his Android phone for an iPhone and he's getting an iPad.

[waukonwhite]

03:06 PM on 09/10/2011

Interesting in that Microsoft is pinning all of it's hopes for the Windows Phone on Nokia, thinking that one may not work out so well for them.

[drunkeneagle]

04:31 PM on 09/10/2011

I would recommend trying a WP7 device, the OS is pretty smooth and has alot of potential. And MS has deep pockets, they can stay in the game whether or not nokia works out. Look at xbox, everyone said they couldnt compete with sony and at it took awhile but they did. Now they sell alot of xboxes. Anyway whether you hate MS or not, dont underestimate their $$$.

[Sunzuki]

06:24 PM on 09/10/2011

It's true, I think with Google buying Motorola Mobility it changes the landscape of Android. The Bada OS is looking good, if they can get enough app support on it I can't see Samsung and LG sticking around, why should they? Does anyone think that Google won't show preferential treatment to Droid's? They aren't going to let their subsidiary sink if it is losing against the other OEM's.

[jflorish]

04:59 PM on 09/10/2011

Microsoft has tried these things for decade and everything other then the desktop fails. Search engine .... fail again and again. Phone .... fail again and again. Now they are trying tablets again too ... good luck with that.

[Post31]

02:17 PM on 09/10/2011

Yah we know

[smokeypenguin]

01:50 PM on 09/10/2011

Yeah...note that the three manufacturers after apple are generally phones that run on android.

[slocomgp]

02:05 PM on 09/10/2011

?

[sfurr]

04:59 PM on 09/10/2011

Well, for one thing, that clearly means that you can make a phone that has strong customer satisfaction based on an Android. More to the point, smart phones based on Android have stronger customer satisfaction than any proprietary platform other than iOS.

That means it is two platforms duking it out, much to the chagrin of the remaining proprietary players, and the mantra that Apple is everything and everything else sucks isn't borne out. At least one manufacturer building products on the Android platform comes pretty close to Apple in customer satisfaction. If I were Apple facing a strong platform with a big ecosystem like Android, I wouldn't be feeling too comfortable.

Their market share position (by volume) never concerned them when they could claim healthy profits by virtue of strong margins. That may not hold up for much longer.

[SGMD1]

01:46 PM on 09/10/2011

Anyone else feel like the new AOL news video makes the news look like an advertisement? Something about that blue world background just looks like The Onion to me.

[Daw8it]

06:24 PM on 09/10/2011

agree ...kinda weird and tacky