Apple Inc. has finally been dethroned as the reigning king of smartphone satisfaction amongst its users by its arch-rival Samsung. Apple was beat out by not one but two Samsung smartphones, the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2.
According to a survey done by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the Galaxy phones took home grades of 84 out of 100 for customer satisfaction. Although it's the company's flagship smartphone, CNET reports the Galaxy S4 was not included in the survey because it was done prior to its debut.
Apple's iPhone 5 wound up in third place with a socre of 82 followed by the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. It's important to note that Apple still came away with the top collective score overall at 81 out of 100. However, this is a drop from 83 last year.
"Not only does Samsung edge ahead of all iPhones, Apple customers themselves don't see much difference between the iPhone 4, 4S, or 5," ACSI director David VanAmburg said in a statement. "The latest earnings report from Apple was better than expected, but the name of the game for Apple has always been innovation. Samsung, on the other hand, shows a strong upward ACSI trend from the Galaxy S II to the Galaxy S III. If the S4 performs as well -- or even better -- in the eyes of customers, Samsung could threaten Apple's dominance in overall customer satisfaction."
Other noteworthy phones on the list include the Samsung Galaxy S2 at Number seven with a score of 78. Motorola and BlackBerry accounted for four spots on the list, two each. ACSI is a leading indicator of customer satisfaction, conducting about 70,000 consumer surveys a year.
It appears Apple has finally lost the brand supremacy it has been holding on to for so many years as consumers become more and more technology savvy and are able to branch out and see the appeal in phones like the Samsung Galaxy series.
