Data Monday: Smartphone Satisfaction

by July 26, 2010

I was recently asked if I had any data that indicated Apple's focus on the iPhone user experience paid off. Did the iPhone enjoy higher satisfaction than Google's Android, which is still trying to improve user experience? Let's take a look...

  • A Yankee Group survey found that 77% of iPhone owners say they'll buy another iPhone, versus just 20% of Google Android customers who say they'll buy another Android phone. (source)
  • The rate at which Android users would like to try iPhone is twice as high as that of iPhone users who would try Android. Given that iPhone penetration is three times that of Android, more iPhone consumers are willing to try Android. (source)
  • According to a CFI study, about 83% of US iPhone owners are satisfied with their phones while the other two touch-first platforms, Google's Android and Palm's webOS, are close with 77 percent each. In comparison, 73 percent of BlackBerry owners can say the same while those using Palm Treos of different varieties claimed 70 percent satisfaction. (source)
  • 80% of iPhone users want their next device to run iPhone OS while 70% of Android users want another Android device. This is in stark comparison to other major smartphone players: only 47% of Blackberry users want another Blackberry while only 34% of Windows Mobile users want another Windows Mobile device. (source)
  • In the 2010 JD Power Smartphone Customer Satisfaction study, the iPhone maintained an absolute lead in satisfaction scores for both all phones and smartphones. The second-place BlackBerry has dropped and now sits below the average. Others have climbed up slightly but still fare worse. HTC's further move from Windows Mobile to Android helped raise its score, while Nokia and Palm managed slight improvements. (source)
  • In the 2009 JD Power Consumer Smartphone Satisfaction Study, Apple’s device nearly swept every category, with top marks in operating system, features, ease of operation, physical design and overall satisfaction. In fact, the only device it didn’t receive the highest marks in was "battery aspects." (source)
  • A total of 99% of respondents to a RBC/IQ ChangeWave survey in August 2009 said they are satisfied with their iPhone 3GS, with 82 percent of those "Very Satisfied." That's an improvement from the already-stellar statistics on the last two iterations of the iPhone, of which 73 percent of customers gave a superior ranking. Similarly, 94 percent of iPhone 3GS buyers said the product met or exceeded their expectations. (source)