Apple's iPhone tops JD Power satisfaction survey for 8th straight time
Apple's iPhone once again topped the J.D. Power and Associates rankings for customer satisfaction, marking 8 straight surveys of besting the competition.
Apple's overall score of 849 out of 1,000 earned it a five-star "PowerCircle Rating" from the consumer advocacy group, which categorizes the company as "among the best" for customer satisfaction. Apple was the only company in the 2012 Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study to earn that distinction.
The 849 score for Apple put the iPhone maker in a class of its own, separated significantly from the rest of the pack. The company finished 59 points ahead of second-place HTC, which earned a customer satisfaction score of 790.
Apple's heated rival Samsung came in third with a score of 782, while Motorola earned 777 and Nokia was given 763 points. At the bottom of the pack were LG, with a score of 742, RIM BlackBerry, with 740, and last-place HP/Palm, with 707.
In all, smartphone makers earned an average score of 783 out of 1,000 in the J.D. Power and Associates Rankings. However, that average is heavily skewed by Apple's market-leading presence, as well as the inclusion of HP and its now-defunct Palm division.
With those outliers removed, the average customer satisfaction score for smartphone makers drops to 768, or 81 points behind Apple.
The study also found that the average smartphone owner who plays games on their device spends $13 more per month for their wireless service than a non-gaming user. Those who use social media applications on their handset also spend an average of $12 more per month on service.
The survey also found that 47 percent of smartphone owners chose their particular handset because of specific features. Selling points for smartphone users include the camera, operating system, social media integration or gaming capabilities.
Just 19 percent of customers in the survey chose their smartphone based on price, though that number is up from 14 percent a year ago.
Finally, the survey also found that nearly two in 10 smartphone owners say they have experienced a software or device malfunction. Those issues are said to have a significant effect on overall user satisfaction — customers who indicated their device's software crashes at least once per week had an average score of just 663, nearly 200 points below the score Apple earned.
Apple's overall score of 849 out of 1,000 earned it a five-star "PowerCircle Rating" from the consumer advocacy group, which categorizes the company as "among the best" for customer satisfaction. Apple was the only company in the 2012 Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study to earn that distinction.
The 849 score for Apple put the iPhone maker in a class of its own, separated significantly from the rest of the pack. The company finished 59 points ahead of second-place HTC, which earned a customer satisfaction score of 790.
Apple's heated rival Samsung came in third with a score of 782, while Motorola earned 777 and Nokia was given 763 points. At the bottom of the pack were LG, with a score of 742, RIM BlackBerry, with 740, and last-place HP/Palm, with 707.
In all, smartphone makers earned an average score of 783 out of 1,000 in the J.D. Power and Associates Rankings. However, that average is heavily skewed by Apple's market-leading presence, as well as the inclusion of HP and its now-defunct Palm division.
With those outliers removed, the average customer satisfaction score for smartphone makers drops to 768, or 81 points behind Apple.
The study also found that the average smartphone owner who plays games on their device spends $13 more per month for their wireless service than a non-gaming user. Those who use social media applications on their handset also spend an average of $12 more per month on service.
The survey also found that 47 percent of smartphone owners chose their particular handset because of specific features. Selling points for smartphone users include the camera, operating system, social media integration or gaming capabilities.
Just 19 percent of customers in the survey chose their smartphone based on price, though that number is up from 14 percent a year ago.
Finally, the survey also found that nearly two in 10 smartphone owners say they have experienced a software or device malfunction. Those issues are said to have a significant effect on overall user satisfaction — customers who indicated their device's software crashes at least once per week had an average score of just 663, nearly 200 points below the score Apple earned.
Comments
This is a really poor graph. It makes it look like Apple is 25% better than the competition instead of ~6%. The lead is big, but the graph is skewed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by odditie
This is a really poor graph. It makes it look like Apple is 25% better than the competition instead of ~6%. The lead is big, but the graph is skewed.
Not necessarily, because there's probably some statistical baseline or floor to the customer ratings. It's likely that no satisfaction was rated on a score of 0, so the real "0" rating is probably closer to the HP/Palm and RIM/BB ratings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by odditie
This is a really poor graph. It makes it look like Apple is 25% better than the competition instead of ~6%. The lead is big, but the graph is skewed.
the whole thing is screwed up. It says it's based on a 1000 point scale, which would mean Apple should have 4.25 stars, the average should be 3.9 stars and the lowest (HP/Palm) should have 3.5 stars.
if 707 of 1000 is two stars, what would 400 of 1000 be?
Quote:
Originally Posted by odditie
This is a really poor graph. It makes it look like Apple is 25% better than the competition instead of ~6%. The lead is big, but the graph is skewed.
Only if you see some special privilege in a score of zero. HTC, in second place with three stars, is 48 points higher than the two star leader. Apple's margin, for its five stars, blows HTC away by 59. It has 67% more stars and 23% more separation from the lowest ranking group, exactly as the graph shows.
It is not close.
Quote:
Originally Posted by focher
Not necessarily, because there's probably some statistical baseline or floor to the customer ratings. It's likely that no satisfaction was rated on a score of 0, so the real "0" rating is probably closer to the HP/Palm and RIM/BB ratings.
True, but without knowing that baseline it is very hard to know. I imagine 600 is not the baseline either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers
the whole thing is screwed up. It says it's based on a 1000 point scale, which would mean Apple should have 4.25 stars, the average should be 3.9 stars and the lowest (HP/Palm) should have 3.5 stars.
if 707 of 1000 is two stars, what would 400 of 1000 be?
That isn't really my problem. The graph was not done by JD Power (I assume since it has sources listed on the bottom) while JD Powers seems to create a scaling ratings based on how things fall relative to the competition.
In any graph, there is always a tough balance between displaying the maximum limits (0-1000 in this case) and showing a visible difference in data points. No doubt a maximum range axis would only have a few pixels difference between companies. I personally would have gone with a 500-1000 range.
This article's graph does label all data points, so I doubt it is intentionally misleading. You can still see that Apple got this many out of a thousand, RIM got this many, etc. Process it and move on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers
Quote:
Originally Posted by odditie
This is a really poor graph. It makes it look like Apple is 25% better than the competition instead of ~6%. The lead is big, but the graph is skewed.
the whole thing is screwed up. It says it's based on a 1000 point scale, which would mean Apple should have 4.25 stars, the average should be 3.9 stars and the lowest (HP/Palm) should have 3.5 stars.
if 707 of 1000 is two stars, what would 400 of 1000 be?
The "Power Circle Ratings" are clearly defined in the legend, and not as a simple 0 - 5 representation of the score.
Not surprising.
Way to go Apple!
But...but... so many people on the internet tell me Apple only produces overpriced, outdated, shiny shit. Who do I believe? Consumers or neckbearded, antisocial, angry, basement dwelling trolls who like rooting their devices 27,293 times a day? I'm so confused.
Originally Posted by Slurpy
…trolls who like rooting their devices 27,293 times a day? I'm so confused.
So that's where the million activations a day come from.
After all, you aren't stuck with Apple's iTunes/App Store/iBookstore walled garden, you can customize to your heart's delight and install apps willy-nilly from all over the planet.
Maybe total control by the end user over your phone isn't what it's cracked up to be...
And what about those ginormous screens? Yeah, Apple's iPhone has a teeny 3.5" screen that is too small, blah blah blah, and yet somehow those porky supersized Android screens aren't translating into greater satisfaction?
Please list the myriad bulletpoints how Android smartphones are superior to the iPhone and then explain why they don't add up to a better end user experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cvaldes1831
If Android smartphones are so awesome, why aren't their users happier?
After all, you aren't stuck with Apple's iTunes/App Store/iBookstore walled garden, you can customize to your heart's delight and install apps willy-nilly from all over the planet.
Maybe total control by the end user over your phone isn't what it's cracked up to be...
And what about those ginormous screens? Yeah, Apple's iPhone has a teeny 3.5" screen that is too small, blah blah blah, and yet somehow those porky supersized Android screens aren't translating into greater satisfaction?
Please list the myriad bulletpoints how Android smartphones are superior to the iPhone and then explain why they don't add up to a better end user experience.
This question has never realy ben answered in the history of Android phones. You'll get a jumbled response of durrr cause of open/options/customization/[insert bullet features that nobody uses here]/etc..and umm...REASONS. Then you get called an iSheep that can't think for yourself, who 'fell' for Apple's marketing, the only thing that distinguishes them from the competition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
So that's where the million activations a day come from.
I love how all these insane daily activation numbers keep being announced (the lastest being 1.3 million) yet the usage metrics (ie. browser usage) never, ever reflect that reality. Either 90% of those phones are thrown in a well right after activation, or... I dunno.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slurpy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
So that's where the million activations a day come from.
I love how all these insane daily activation numbers keep being announced (the lastest being 1.3 million) yet the usage metrics (ie. browser usage) never, ever reflect that reality. Either 90% of those phones are thrown in a well right after activation, or... I dunno.
Worldwide, with all the low-end feature phone devices running some version of Android, these numbers are probably conceivable. Meaningless, but conceivable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slurpy
I love how all these insane daily activation numbers keep being announced (the lastest being 1.3 million) yet the usage metrics (ie. browser usage) never, ever reflect that reality. Either 90% of those phones are thrown in a well right after activation, or... I dunno.
I for one don't believe these massive numbers either. What are people with Android phones doing all day? They don't surf the web with their phones?
Regardless, pretty lame even if most of them are just basic feature phones with Android. Google has nothing to be proud of... how much money are they really making off of Android?
Quote:
Originally Posted by muppetry
Worldwide, with all the low-end feature phone devices running some version of Android, these numbers are probably conceivable. Meaningless, but conceivable.
Most likely a combination of meaningless and, if not actually cooked, then warmed over a bit.
Google has never unambiguously defined an "activation", nor how it counts them. They have from time to time said, we don't count this or we don't count that, which, however, even if those statements are entirely candid, still leaves a lot of questions about how they do count them and what exactly they are counting. Certainly meaningless, in any case, though. And, yes, the browser stats, which do not corroborate Google's claims, are the meaningful statistic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slurpy
I love how all these insane daily activation numbers keep being announced (the lastest being 1.3 million) yet the usage metrics (ie. browser usage) never, ever reflect that reality. Either 90% of those phones are thrown in a well right after activation, or... I dunno.
Where are the "browser usage" numbers coming from, what markets do they report on, and how broad are the reports? If they're primarily depending on North American mobile browser shares, or that's all you see reported, then of course Androids share won't appear to be in line with expectations based on reported "activations". Apple's largest market share is found in North America. Android is stronger in the rest of the world according to all reports.
http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-ww-monthly-201108-201208
This particular chart shows Apple's mobile browser share to be falling recently. Does anyone believe that?
Let's put it differently. More than one source reports worldwide smartphone sales around 140-150 million in just the last quarter.
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23455612
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2017015
How many Apple iPhones were sold in that same quarter? Around 37 million. That's leaves somewhere around 100+ million that weren't iPhones. Someone's OS had to be on them other than Apple's.
There, fixed it for ya... ;-)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatorguy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slurpy
I love how all these insane daily activation numbers keep being announced (the lastest being 1.3 million) yet the usage metrics (ie. browser usage) never, ever reflect that reality. Either 90% of those phones are thrown in a well right after activation, or... I dunno.
Where are the "browser usage" numbers coming from, what markets do they report on, and how broad are the reports? If they're primarily depending on North American mobile browser shares, or that's all you see reported, then of course Androids share won't appear to be in line with expectations based on reported "activations". Apple's largest market share is found in North America. Android is stronger in the rest of the world according to all reports.
http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-ww-monthly-201108-201208
This particular chart shows Apple's mobile browser share to be falling in the past few months. Does anyone believe that?
Let's put it differently. More than one source reports worldwide smartphone sales around 140-150 million in just the last quarter.
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23455612
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2017015
How many Apple iPhones were sold in that same quarter? Around 37 million. That's leaves somewhere around 100+ million that weren't iPhones. Someone's OS had to be on them other than Apple's.
100 million phones over 3 months could certainly generate of the order of 1 million activations per day.