Apple's AirPods achieve 98% customer satisfaction in new study

Posted:
in iPhone edited May 2017
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.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Well, that's good, but I still don't put much stock into surveys.
  • Reply 2 of 40
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Too bad that we are always inundated with negativity on sites like AI. Kinda skews the reality of the real world where people like the products they buy. Like @SpamSandwich though, I also question the validity of surveys without knowing who commissioned them and why.
    edited May 2017 brakkendewmeandrewj5790cali
  • Reply 3 of 40
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    I'm still waiting on in-ear versions, with options for foam or silicone tips. Or maybe, biometric sensing tips. Otherwise, the fit of the AirPods aren't all the way there for me. Apparently, I'm in the 10% who have deficient anti-tragi.

  • Reply 4 of 40
    Ho! 98 percent is some quality Doom!
    pscooter63anton zuykovcaliwatto_cobraAirunJaealbegarc
  • Reply 5 of 40
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    Wow, impressive!

    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). 
    caliwatto_cobraAirunJaealbegarc
  • Reply 6 of 40
    waverboywaverboy Posts: 106member
    Still waiting for black in-ear versions with silicone tips.  C'mon Apple, white is just plain squaresville.
    cali
  • Reply 7 of 40
    xbitxbit Posts: 390member
    I guess I'm part of the 2% then. I thought that the AirPods solved all of the problems associated with Bluetooth headphones but none of the problems associated with Apple headphones.

    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.
    edited May 2017 massconn72
  • Reply 8 of 40
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    tht said:
    I'm still waiting on in-ear versions, with options for foam or silicone tips. Or maybe, biometric sensing tips. Otherwise, the fit of the AirPods aren't all the way there for me. Apparently, I'm in the 10% who have deficient anti-tragi.

    If they dont fit your ears real well, plenty of third-party accessories to help out:




    pscooter63caliwatto_cobraAirunJae
  • Reply 9 of 40
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member

    xbit said:

    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.
    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.
    caliwatto_cobraAirunJaeRoyfb
  • Reply 10 of 40
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Seems… odd that Apple had their highest first year customer satisfaction in history on an accessory, not an actual product. I was skeptical about the AirPods (after the first-gen iPhone’s bluetooth headset fell through), but I’m happy to be wrong (because I liked the first-gen iPhone’s bluetooth headset!). Still, weird their products didn’t hit these numbers.

    But don’t go by me; I’m a depressimist.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 40
    Nameo_Nameo_ Posts: 34member
    Well, this is bad news for me. I was waiting on a 2nd gen AirPods because it's a bit too late to buy the 1st gen now. Also I'm pretty excited about bluetooth 5.0. With such high satisfaction rate, I would suspect it's unlikely that Apple comes up with the next gen anytime soon, if ever.
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 12 of 40
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    I am very happy with mine, and use it frequently on the road. The lack of noise isolation is a blessing because then I can still be aware of my surrounding or the bicycle ring behind me, for example. And yet, the sound is rich and full in your ears with very little outside noise mix in. I praise the balance where Apple went with the design here.
    pscooter63douglas baileycaliwatto_cobraAirunJae
  • Reply 13 of 40
    I love them. Changed my life and how I work out. I'm second the other kevin when I say I'm glad they're not noise canceling so I don't get run down by bicyclists during long hikes.

    Coupled with the watch where I can control everything without touching the phone? Solid. 
    caliwatto_cobraAirunJae
  • Reply 14 of 40
    pscooter63pscooter63 Posts: 1,080member
    I wanted to buy a set this weekend (finally!), but discovered they're back-ordered six weeks here in the US.    Every Apple store, every online vendor... berift.  Heck, the Pencil wasn't this scarce.

    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.)
    edited May 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 40
    discovered they're back-ordered six weeks here in the US.

    Did everyone else here have to wait that long for theirs?
    Yep, I'm pretty sure - except for those who ordered in the first 6 hours - they have been 6 weeks backordered for everyone worldwide from day one.
    edited May 2017 john.bcaliwatto_cobraAirunJae
  • Reply 16 of 40
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    discovered they're back-ordered six weeks here in the US.

    Did everyone else here have to wait that long for theirs?
    Yep, I'm pretty sure - except for those who ordered in the first 6 hours - they have been 6 weeks backordered for everyone worldwide from day one.
    +1.

     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. 


    pscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 40
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Still waiting on availability.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 40
    I suppose I've already typed my piece, but, seriously?!? I'm not sure you could get 98% satisfaction in a poll on orgasms. Mayhap Mapple should have dubbed these Eargasm ... um, pods.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 40
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    I wanted to buy a set this weekend (finally!), but discovered they're back-ordered six weeks here in the US.    Every Apple store, every online vendor... berift.  Heck, the Pencil wasn't this scarce.

    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.)
    Mine are on their way. My original delivery estimate was May 31, but I should actually get them by Thursday. I ordered through Best Buy's website. 

    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.
    watto_cobraAirunJae
  • Reply 20 of 40
    bestkeptsecretbestkeptsecret Posts: 4,265member

    They are actually an amazing pair of ear phones. They actually just work! Love my set and use it a lot.


    watto_cobraAirunJaemike1
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