Curious J.D. Power report scores 2017 tablet makers by screen size, bundled apps, mouse su...
A curious report from J.D. Power gave Microsoft's Surface brand a higher overall score in comparison to other tablet makers, "largely due to its top rankings in the features and styling & design factors," in particular the size of the screen.
Microsoft has invited Surface compariisons with MacBooks, not iPads
Jeff Conklin, vice president of service industries at J.D. Power, wrote in a press release that Microsoft's "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's "success" in selling Surface tablets is, on a revenue and unit basis, about the same as it was in 2012 when it entered the market. However, previous J.D. Power tablet rankings (specifically in 2012, 2013 and 2014) didn't appear to include any Surface devices, which are generally considered 2-in-1 hybrid laptops rather than tablets.
Microsoft itself compares its Surface Pro 4 to Apple's MacBooks, rather than to its much cheaper iPad line, and has done so since 2014 (as depicted in the ad above). Comparisons between Surface Pro 4 and Apple's iPad Pro are not flattering in terms of price or performance.
After ranking iPad the top tablet in customer satisfaction in 2012, the firm's 2013 tablet report ranked iPad best in every category apart from price, then assigned a higher score to the lower performing Samsung solely on the basis of cost. In 2014 it gave the title back to iPad.
In its latest report, J.D. Power stated that "Microsoft is the highest performer in three areas: variety of pre-loaded applications; internet connectivity; and availability of manufacturer-supported accessories.
"Microsoft Surface users have the highest incidences of accessory use, which underscores the device's versatility. These accessories include a stylus (48% vs. 27% industry average); physical keyboard (51% vs. 14%); and mouse (27% vs. 6%)."
Apple's iPad, like most other tablets designed after it, does not use a mouse. Further, only Apple's iPad Pro line makes use of a precision drawing device, branded as Apple Pencil, although it could be generally referred to as a "stylus." Because the report only refers to vendors and not specific product lines, it's not clear what iPad models the firm included it its statistics.
J.D. Power also focused on screen size, which it equated to higher satisfaction. "Average screen diagonal among Microsoft customers is highest, at 11.8 inches. Satisfaction is 869 among customers whose screen diagonal is 10 inches or more vs. 850 among those whose screen diagonal is 8-10 inches and 824 among those whose screen diagonal is less than 8 inches."
The cost of a larger screen is not reflected in the single score assigned to each vendor. Apple makes three sizes of iPad, with only its largest iPad Pro comparable to Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. Samsung makes an enormous range of tablets sizes.
J.D. Power also pointed out that "data plans increase satisfaction," stating that "Nearly one-third (32%) of customers have a data plan with their tablet. Overall satisfaction among customers with a data plan is 863 vs. 834 among those without such a plan."
The firm's report says it "measures customer satisfaction with tablets across five factors (in order of importance): performance (28%); ease of operation (22%); features (22%); styling and design (17%); and cost (11%). The 2017 study is based on experiences evaluated by 2,238 tablet owners who have owned their current device for less than one year."
We contacted J.D. Power to clarify some of its findings and are waiting for a response.
Microsoft has invited Surface compariisons with MacBooks, not iPads
Jeff Conklin, vice president of service industries at J.D. Power, wrote in a press release that Microsoft's "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's "success" in selling Surface tablets is, on a revenue and unit basis, about the same as it was in 2012 when it entered the market. However, previous J.D. Power tablet rankings (specifically in 2012, 2013 and 2014) didn't appear to include any Surface devices, which are generally considered 2-in-1 hybrid laptops rather than tablets.
Microsoft itself compares its Surface Pro 4 to Apple's MacBooks, rather than to its much cheaper iPad line, and has done so since 2014 (as depicted in the ad above). Comparisons between Surface Pro 4 and Apple's iPad Pro are not flattering in terms of price or performance.
After ranking iPad the top tablet in customer satisfaction in 2012, the firm's 2013 tablet report ranked iPad best in every category apart from price, then assigned a higher score to the lower performing Samsung solely on the basis of cost. In 2014 it gave the title back to iPad.
In its latest report, J.D. Power stated that "Microsoft is the highest performer in three areas: variety of pre-loaded applications; internet connectivity; and availability of manufacturer-supported accessories.
"Microsoft Surface users have the highest incidences of accessory use, which underscores the device's versatility. These accessories include a stylus (48% vs. 27% industry average); physical keyboard (51% vs. 14%); and mouse (27% vs. 6%)."
Apple's iPad, like most other tablets designed after it, does not use a mouse. Further, only Apple's iPad Pro line makes use of a precision drawing device, branded as Apple Pencil, although it could be generally referred to as a "stylus." Because the report only refers to vendors and not specific product lines, it's not clear what iPad models the firm included it its statistics.
J.D. Power also focused on screen size, which it equated to higher satisfaction. "Average screen diagonal among Microsoft customers is highest, at 11.8 inches. Satisfaction is 869 among customers whose screen diagonal is 10 inches or more vs. 850 among those whose screen diagonal is 8-10 inches and 824 among those whose screen diagonal is less than 8 inches."
The cost of a larger screen is not reflected in the single score assigned to each vendor. Apple makes three sizes of iPad, with only its largest iPad Pro comparable to Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. Samsung makes an enormous range of tablets sizes.
J.D. Power also pointed out that "data plans increase satisfaction," stating that "Nearly one-third (32%) of customers have a data plan with their tablet. Overall satisfaction among customers with a data plan is 863 vs. 834 among those without such a plan."
The firm's report says it "measures customer satisfaction with tablets across five factors (in order of importance): performance (28%); ease of operation (22%); features (22%); styling and design (17%); and cost (11%). The 2017 study is based on experiences evaluated by 2,238 tablet owners who have owned their current device for less than one year."
We contacted J.D. Power to clarify some of its findings and are waiting for a response.
Comments
I don't think of Surface as a tablet but I guess because it's multi touch and the keyboard is detachable it's classified as such.
Let's not kid ourselves here, the Surface Pen has been around longer and is just as good.
It’s all in the narrative to be pushed out.
It sounds like half the criteria is subjective.
Anyone stupid enough the buy the "sleep of death" for $4,000 deserves listening to this report and buying one.
So all of Microsofts ads push "touching the screen" on the laptops and THAT S why they think you shouldn't buy apple. Then these idiots stress "use of mouse" as a reason to purchase? Head disconnected from body
The big picture issue here is that when it comes to "pro" tablets, Microsoft is offering a product that many people really like and Apple is struggling with the iPad Pro. It's not the iPad Pro that gives Apple the lead in tablet sales, it's the more consumption-oriented non-pro iPads.
I think Apple is conceptually correct in arguing that hybrid devices are compromised. But I think Microsoft has been working very hard to refine their implementation of that hybrid device, while Apple has not made as much progress in refining the implementation of their vision of what tablets should be and how they should fit in with our lives.
Apple's vision is that you do point-and-click stuff on the device that is best optimized for that UI, you do multitouch on the device best optimized for that UI. I tend to agree with that. BUT -- that approach means that those two devices need to work together seamlessly.
To my way of thinking, the iPad Pro is potentially a great companion device to a 27" iMac or a Mac Pro. The iPad is the mobile, multi-touch device; the Mac is the high power precision device. And when they are in the same room together, they should be able to work together to accomplish even more. But that's not really happening, at least not to the extent that it could.
It's less clear to me how an iPad Pro complements a MacBook Pro, unless the MacBook Pro is docked to a big monitor, acting more or less as a desktop.
This year, the criteria shifted to legacy support for a mouse, "bundled apps" not depth or breadth of apps available, and screen size (but not cost).
Comparing iPad Pro against 2-in-1s makes some sense. Comparing the entire portfolio of Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, LG, Acer and Asus makes little sense, and offers little insight to anyone. Particularly when all that's reported is a subjective, arbitrary finding presented in a "4 of 5 stars" type rating.
From last summer:
It does not seem battery life and weight as a tablet were criteria either. While AI protesteth too much, I agree JD Power used some weird rankings to get the surface pro even in consideration.
It is not a great tablet. It is not a great laptop. It's a great crossover device.
That's a dollar figure, and it doesn't show iPad Pro vs other iPads.
From last Fall, the iPad Pro accounts for about 1/3 of iPad unit sales:
http://www.macworld.com/article/3137457/hardware/apple-leads-tablet-sales-but-the-ipad-pro-is-not-its-best-seller.html ;
Also, it's actually a little misleading to look just at Surface -- you have to look at all of the 2-in-1 Windows hybrids to see how the MS tablet concept is doing in sales compared Apple's.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't find those things compelling myself. But I give Microsoft credit for sticking with it, continuing to refine and improve.