Apple has topped the J.D. Power 2013 Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study, landing above competitors like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola. In fact, Apple is so well regarded that it is the only smartphone maker with a ranking above average.

The study measured satisfaction among 9,767 customers who had used their current smartphone for less than one year, and looks at performance, physical design, features and ease of operation. The firm said Apple "performs particularly well in physical design and ease of operation."

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The Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study finds that satisfaction among smartphone customers is 796 (on a 1,000-point scale), an increase of 22 points from 2012. This improvement is likely due to a growing array of new features and services being offered that are providing a seamless product experience between the operating system functions and third-party apps. While satisfaction in all factors of the smartphone customer experience increases from 2012, satisfaction has increased the most in performance (26 points), as a few key attributes, such as operating system reliability, processing speed and video/camera picture quality, have improved significantly.

Apple also led the rankings in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and it is the ninth consecutive time that Apple has led the biannual ranking. Apple links the survey prominently on its 'Why iPhone' page.

Top Rated Comments

Shrink Avatar
163 months ago
Not everybody buys one, but those who do have an iPhone seem to like it.

Of course, that excludes most of the posters on MR's iPhone Forum!:p

:rolleyes:
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
163 months ago
Strange that despite all the "lack of innovation" (and lack of a 27 inch screen) people are still the most happy with iPhones!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jm001 Avatar
163 months ago
This study was obviously done before the S4 unveiling :D

Yeah I thought Samsung's approval rating was a bit high.

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maybe the people that didn't like it have gone elsewhere?

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the reality is most phone buyers of all brands aren't techies and their phone whatever it is, is sufficient and if you don't care too much about features then the iphone prob is best option.

Quite true. A colleague of mine was an iPhone user and then switched to the GSIII. She told me when she saw my iPhone 5 that she wishes she hadn't switched. I truthfully told her that I had heard very good things with the GSIII and Android and was puzzled why she wanted to switch back. She said that yes it was a good phone, BUT, for her, it was complicated to use especially with the Samsung UI. She missed the simplicity of iOS. She also missed the iOS keyboard because she explained that her GSIII, even with the 3rd party keyboards was still not as intuitive as the iOS keyboard.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
QCassidy352 Avatar
163 months ago
I don't get it. I've been reading the iPhone forum, and I thought iOS was 10 years out of date, and the iPhone was useless because it's 2" too small. Now I see this result, and I gotta tell you, it makes me question whether the random anonymous trolls in the MR iPhone forum really have a good grasp of the market - as crazy as that might sound.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
163 months ago
Thus the reason for the iphone 5s. The average user does not care. And the Apple fan will buy regardless. Apple essentially created a cult of followers.
I would not be surprised if iOS remains basically the same because of this recognition. Why change something if people don't complain?

The vast majority of people who use iPhones aren't Apple fans at all, they're regular people who don't really know the difference between iOS and Android, they just got an iPhone because of a friend or they just liked how it looked. These people aren't "loyal" and won't be happy regardless of what Apple does. If they're not happy, they'll get something else next year.

Innovation has to be ahead of people's needs somewhat, but just throwing in useless features is not innovation. You have to wait for a logical, good idea to come along. I have yet to hear any such ideas that the iPhone really needs. Sure, there will be some new things soon, but I doubt they'll change the world, since the world doesn't need changing (yet). Maybe in a year it will make sense to introduce new groundbreaking features again. Maybe right now, there's no such need other than plain boredom.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SILen(e Avatar
163 months ago
1. Good for Apple

2. I still think it should become a crime to make graphs with scales that don't start at zero
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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