According to J.D. Power’s 2017 smartphone satisfaction rankings, Samsung is within inches of surpassing its rival Apple when it comes to consumers’ satisfaction with their devices.
Apple’s overall satisfaction score on Power’s scale is 840 — a tiny stop up from Samsung in the #2 spot with a score of 839. And consider — Samsung got within 1 point of Apple about six months after its Note 7 phones were literally spontaneously combusting. What the rankings might have looked like minus that incendiary incident is interesting to consider.
In good news for Apple, however, J.D. Power’s survey also found that smartphone owners’ satisfaction with their devices is positively correlated with being able to pair them with smart home devices.
“Smartphone manufacturers that make it easier for their products to connect with other devices will have a major advantage in improving customer satisfaction as homes become smarter and more automated,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director at J.D. Power.
The Amazon Echo also had a good showing in this year’s rankings, when smartphone owners able to pair their devices with an Echo saw their satisfaction scores go up 49 points on average.