Skip to main content

Americans are more satisfied with Apple’s iPhone SE than its larger-screen rivals

apple iphone se tops annual customer satisfaction index 004
Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends
While larger screens seem to be dominating the smartphone market, the iPhone SE took first place in the Annual Customer Satisfaction Index — receiving a score of 87 out of 100. The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and iPhone 7 Plus trailed closely behind.

The ASCI measures customer satisfaction scores from May 2016 to April 2017, and the results are based on random interviews with a little more than 36,000 customers in the U.S. The iPhone SE’s top marks suggest consumers may be looking for smartphones that are not only smaller, but also less expensive.

The lineup of devices largely consists of products from Samsung and Apple — illustrating the dominance the two companies have on the U.S. market — but there are also a few surprises, such as LG’s G4 and the Moto G, which scored 73 and 75, respectively. The Galaxy S8 isn’t listed here, as it was just released last month.

The ASCI report also includes customer satisfaction data from other sectors, such as wireless carriers. Out of the big four carriers in the U.S., Verizon came first, and AT&T was last. Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint improved their customer satisfaction scores, but T-Mobile lost a percentage point, finishing second to last. More surprisingly, the big four were all beat out by smaller carriers such as TracFone Wireless and U.S. Cellular.

In terms of smartphone brands, Apple reigns king again at 81 percent, unchanged from last year. Microsoft Mobile, which offered Nokia Lumia devices, is shockingly tied for second place with Samsung — Microsoft hasn’t released a Windows phone in nearly two years, so it’s safe to say people were satisfied with their devices despite the phones’ lagging popularity. Samsung, like Apple, also remained unchanged with its score of 80 — a notable feat considering the Galaxy Note 7 recall last year. HTC jumped a percent, while Lenovo’s Motorola dipped a little.

While ease of text messaging and making calls, as well as phone design remained top scorers in the customer satisfaction report, battery life is still at the bottom of the list — though it posted a 1 percent improvement to a score of 76.

Editors' Recommendations

Brenda Stolyar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brenda became obsessed with technology after receiving her first Dell computer from her grandpa in the second grade. While…
Your iPhone could steal this Pixel Tablet feature when it gets iOS 17
iPhone 14 Pro with always on display no wallpaper or notifications

With iOS 17 coming in hot for its expected June reveal during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, iPhone owners are anxious to hear about any big features coming with the update. According to Bloomberg, a major change is coming in the form of a complete interface overhaul for locked devices that effectively turns your iPhone into a smart display.

The new interface will supposedly display a plethora of information like the weather, push notifications, upcoming significant calendar dates, and more. Per the report, this new interface displays automatically when your iPhone is locked and laying horizontally with its screen facing up.

Read more
iMessage was down today, but it’s now back to normal
Apple Messages opened on iPhone 13 Pro Max

Apple's iMessage — one of the biggest reasons to use an iPhone — was having some trouble today.

Apple's official System Status website confirmed that an iMessage issue began at 11:50 a.m. ET. The issue was listed as "ongoing" for multiple hours, with Apple noting that "users may be unable to send or download attachments in iMessage."

Read more
This phone just ruined the iPhone 14 Pro and Samung Galaxy S23 Ultra for me
Vivo X90 Pro with Yashica analog camera on a flat surface.

Vivo may not be as popular outside of China as its sister brands OnePlus and Realme, but it has recently gained widespread recognition for its impressive cameras on the flagship X series.

For their commendable camera quality, Vivo's X series phones rely on its partnership with Zeiss, which provides special lenses and helps tune colors for these devices. The Vivo X90 Pro is the latest product in the series to benefit from this exclusive partnership, which has resulted in some phenomenal photography.

Read more