Smartwatch users rank Apple Watch best in class in new JD Power survey
Wearable device customer satisfaction rankings released by J.D. Power on Tuesday place the Apple Watch at the top of the heap, edging second-place finisher Samsung as the best smartwatch on the market today.
The J.D. Power 2016 Fitness Band Device Satisfaction Report polled 2,696 customers who purchased a smartwatch between June 2015 and June 2016. Questions covered ease of use, comfort, battery life, phone connectivity features, price, durability, display size, appearance, reliability, apps available, and customer service.
Based on the results of the survey, products were graded on a 1000-point scale. The Apple Watch was the clear winner, earning a top-ranked score of 852, which placed it ahead of Samsung's 842.
Sony (840), Fitbit (839), and LG (827) rounded out the rest of the top five.
Among those polled, Apple Watch performed strongest against the competition in comfort, styling, and ease of use. Samsung's products performed best in customer service, display size, and phone connectivity features.
Source: J.D. Power 2016 Fitness Band Device Satisfaction Report
Overall, 19 percent of all smartwatch customers informed J.D. Power that they had issues with their wearable device. The most common issues were related to charging the watch, user customization, and broken charging peripherals.
Samsung held a commanding lead in the far cheaper "fitness band" product category, a market segment Apple does not compete in. Samsung's score of 859 bested second-ranked Garmin, coming in at 836. The fitness band category had an average customer satisfaction ranking of 829.
The Pebble, arguably the first modern smartwatch, was released in July 2013 and wasn't included in either J.D. Power survey. Samsung's first smart watch, the Galaxy Gear, shipped to customers in September of 2013. The Apple Watch began shipping to customers on April 24, 2015.
The J.D. Power 2016 Fitness Band Device Satisfaction Report polled 2,696 customers who purchased a smartwatch between June 2015 and June 2016. Questions covered ease of use, comfort, battery life, phone connectivity features, price, durability, display size, appearance, reliability, apps available, and customer service.
Based on the results of the survey, products were graded on a 1000-point scale. The Apple Watch was the clear winner, earning a top-ranked score of 852, which placed it ahead of Samsung's 842.
Sony (840), Fitbit (839), and LG (827) rounded out the rest of the top five.
Among those polled, Apple Watch performed strongest against the competition in comfort, styling, and ease of use. Samsung's products performed best in customer service, display size, and phone connectivity features.
Source: J.D. Power 2016 Fitness Band Device Satisfaction Report
Overall, 19 percent of all smartwatch customers informed J.D. Power that they had issues with their wearable device. The most common issues were related to charging the watch, user customization, and broken charging peripherals.
Samsung held a commanding lead in the far cheaper "fitness band" product category, a market segment Apple does not compete in. Samsung's score of 859 bested second-ranked Garmin, coming in at 836. The fitness band category had an average customer satisfaction ranking of 829.
The Pebble, arguably the first modern smartwatch, was released in July 2013 and wasn't included in either J.D. Power survey. Samsung's first smart watch, the Galaxy Gear, shipped to customers in September of 2013. The Apple Watch began shipping to customers on April 24, 2015.
Comments
I just LOVE mine and NEVER go a day without it! And I'm REALLY looking forward to watchOS 3!
The point system seems to weight everything equally or at most in and and ad hoc way; for actual users, some things are way worse than others.
Please point to me to the god damn doc and make your argument, otherwise you've just uttered: non sequitur (it does not follow from the facts).
One reason Apple satisfaction rates so high is that they actually FIX THE ISSUES IF THEY ARISE, ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT ONES; Apple's services is why you buy them.
The fact they updated the OS improving the performance and usability all through the first year of release is something no Android maker can do.
That's just JD "adjusting" the numbers so as not to piss of the ones that finished behind Apple. Apple Watch is in a league of its own.
When watchOS 3 gets released Apple Watch satisfaction will go even higher.
other than this -- people will be even more satisfied once watchOS 3 drops...big time.
And all negative toward the Watch, right? MacRumors is has been totally taken over by the iHaters over the last two years. I don’t even visit that site anymore.
Yeah I think I'm done with that site. Imagine 100s of Rogifans and you get an idea of what that place is like.
i try to only visit MR to scan the headlines, which for some reason I find more consumable and pleasing on their site. the commentary there is rabid and worthless, which is why I come to AI for the conversation.
The fact that Ben Frost would be getting upvotes is enough of a reason not to visit the comment section of that site as any. It was a great day when he was permabanned. I agree that MR headlines are easier to read though.
842/1000 vs 852/1000. That's my argument. It's a meaningless difference in a meaningless study. I think we are in violent agreement.
Average says 847
Apple has 852
If the rest are below apple, and the numbers get smaller, how the hell does that average out to be 847? If you average all the current numbers then you get 840.
I hold this suspect