Apple's AirPods achieve 98% customer satisfaction in new study
According to recent survey conducted by market research firm Creative Strategies, a record breaking 98 percent of AirPods owners said they were either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the wireless headphones.
The survey, conducted in partnership with Experian, polled 942 people to find 82 percent of AirPods owners "very satisfied" with their purchase, while another 16 percent responded as "satisfied." The collective 98 percent satisfaction rating is the highest Creative Strategies has seen for an Apple product.
"The overall customer satisfaction level of 98% sets the record for the highest level of satisfaction for a new product from Apple," writes Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies. "When the iPhone came out in 2007, it held a 92 percent customer satisfaction level, iPad in 2010 had 92 percent, and Apple Watch in 2015 had 97 percent."
Results posted to the firm's website on Monday did not apply figures to other customer ranking levels, though a bar graph showed only a sliver in the "neither satisfied nor dissatisfied" category, and an even smaller representation for those "dissatisfied" with the product. Judging by the graph, no respondents selected "very dissatisfied" as an answer.
The survey also asked users if they were willing to recommend AirPods to others. Known as a Net Promoter Score, the metric is based on a scale ranging from 0 to 10, with 0 being "not likely at all" to recommend and 10 being "extremely likely." AirPods scored an aggregate of 75, higher than iPhone's NPS of 72. Specialists consider NPS ratings above 50 as excellent, while figures over 70 denote a world class product, Bajarin says.
Bajarin goes on to say that AirPods' NPS score is somewhat of anomaly considering many current owners are early adopters. Previous research linked to Apple Watch and other cutting edge technology like Amazon's Echo reveal early adopters tend to withhold high recommendations for new devices, often citing the products as not ready for mainstream use.
Diving deeper into the numbers, respondents offered high marks -- 97 to 98 percent -- for specific features including time to charge, charging case design and Apple's pairing process. Powered by Apple's W1 chip, AirPods pairing is a streamlined one-tap process on compatible iPhones and Macs, and is marketed as a marquee feature.
Battery life and comfort received average scores of 95 percent, while a secure fit -- a major concern prior to AirPods' release -- landed at 93 percent. Of note, 4.6 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with fit.
Finally, the survey asked a few general questions to determine customer sentiment about AirPods and the accompanying product launch. Notably, 82 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat agree that AirPods are their favorite Apple debut in recent memory, a major accomplishment for what is being billed as an iPhone accessory.
Other responses relate to usage, with 88.97 percent of respondents saying they strongly or somewhat agree that AirPods consistently pair to their iPhone as soon as they put one in their ear. Another 82.5 percent of owners would like access to additional controls. Currently, AirPods users can answer calls by tapping on either earbud, with a double-tap invoking Siri for advanced controls like volume adjustment and track skipping.
The survey, conducted in partnership with Experian, polled 942 people to find 82 percent of AirPods owners "very satisfied" with their purchase, while another 16 percent responded as "satisfied." The collective 98 percent satisfaction rating is the highest Creative Strategies has seen for an Apple product.
"The overall customer satisfaction level of 98% sets the record for the highest level of satisfaction for a new product from Apple," writes Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies. "When the iPhone came out in 2007, it held a 92 percent customer satisfaction level, iPad in 2010 had 92 percent, and Apple Watch in 2015 had 97 percent."
Results posted to the firm's website on Monday did not apply figures to other customer ranking levels, though a bar graph showed only a sliver in the "neither satisfied nor dissatisfied" category, and an even smaller representation for those "dissatisfied" with the product. Judging by the graph, no respondents selected "very dissatisfied" as an answer.
The survey also asked users if they were willing to recommend AirPods to others. Known as a Net Promoter Score, the metric is based on a scale ranging from 0 to 10, with 0 being "not likely at all" to recommend and 10 being "extremely likely." AirPods scored an aggregate of 75, higher than iPhone's NPS of 72. Specialists consider NPS ratings above 50 as excellent, while figures over 70 denote a world class product, Bajarin says.
Bajarin goes on to say that AirPods' NPS score is somewhat of anomaly considering many current owners are early adopters. Previous research linked to Apple Watch and other cutting edge technology like Amazon's Echo reveal early adopters tend to withhold high recommendations for new devices, often citing the products as not ready for mainstream use.
Diving deeper into the numbers, respondents offered high marks -- 97 to 98 percent -- for specific features including time to charge, charging case design and Apple's pairing process. Powered by Apple's W1 chip, AirPods pairing is a streamlined one-tap process on compatible iPhones and Macs, and is marketed as a marquee feature.
Battery life and comfort received average scores of 95 percent, while a secure fit -- a major concern prior to AirPods' release -- landed at 93 percent. Of note, 4.6 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with fit.
Finally, the survey asked a few general questions to determine customer sentiment about AirPods and the accompanying product launch. Notably, 82 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat agree that AirPods are their favorite Apple debut in recent memory, a major accomplishment for what is being billed as an iPhone accessory.
Other responses relate to usage, with 88.97 percent of respondents saying they strongly or somewhat agree that AirPods consistently pair to their iPhone as soon as they put one in their ear. Another 82.5 percent of owners would like access to additional controls. Currently, AirPods users can answer calls by tapping on either earbud, with a double-tap invoking Siri for advanced controls like volume adjustment and track skipping.
Comments
I just bought BeatsX and I like them pretty well so far. I think the reviews are correct in stating that the treble range has some issues, but after the story came out about Bose surreptitiously selling users' listening habits to third parties, I decided that BeatsX had the best combination of features (best form factor, best bluetooth pairing, best aesthetics, best privacy policies, and good -- but not best -- audio quality).
They're so close to be perfect but the total lack of noise isolation made them useless for on daily commute or in the office. Unless the seal was absolutely perfect (usually lasted for 10 seconds or so), I had to turn them up to ear-damaging levels to hear podcasts clearly over background noise.
I'd buy proper in-ear AirPods in an instant, especially if they feature active noise cancellation. It's a shame that the Beats X don't have the most cool AirPod features.
EDIT: Actually, I guess I'm not part of the 2%. I returned them so I'm not technically an owner.
Having a noise-canceling feature is not a standard, stock feature, and not having such a feature doesn't make them not proper headphones. I've never owned a pair of headphones with a noise cancelation feature in my entire life. AirPods still my favorite headphones in my life.
But don’t go by me; I’m a depressimist.
Coupled with the watch where I can control everything without touching the phone? Solid.
Did everyone else here have to wait that long for theirs?
(No, I'm not throwing money away on FeeBay or Amazin'... I'm impatient, yes, but not stupid.)
I ordered them for my gf's birthday. Order made 03/06/17 they shipped 04/19/17 which is actually a few days earlier than the original ship and receive estimate I received the night I ordered.
Made the the decision to buy based on reviews by people who went into their evaluation primed to dislike the product, but ended up endorsing them in the end. A lot like the original iPhone or iPad.
They are actually an amazing pair of ear phones. They actually just work! Love my set and use it a lot.