The topic ACSI: Samsung edges out Apple in cell phone satisfaction, while Apple Watch ties at… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has published this year’s Telecommunications, Cell Phone, and Smartwatch Study. Here’s how the iPhone and the Apple Watch did.
Over the years, Apple has touted its high customer satisfaction as a hallmark of the quality of its products, to the point that Tim Cook’s “customer sat” line has become a sort of meme, particularly during Apple events and earnings calls.
Just last month, during Apple’s Q2 2026 earnings call, customer satisfaction came up five times over the course of the hour-long session, with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh mentioning twice that customer satisfaction for the iPhone 17 lineup had recently been measured at 99% in the US by 451 Research. Parekh also cited 451 Research figures of 97% for the Mac, 98% for the iPad, and 96% for the Apple Watch.
This week, however, the ACSI (via Macworld) released this year’s Telecommunications, Cell Phone, and Smartwatch Study, with somewhat different numbers.
The study was based on 26,963 completed surveys conducted between April 2025 and March 2026. Customers were asked to evaluate their recent experiences with the largest companies in each category.
In the overall “cell phones” category, Samsung took the top spot by holding its score at 81, while Apple slipped one point from last year to 80.
The overall score for the category rose 1% to 79. This year’s study also measured AI feature performance for the first time, with the category scoring 85 on ACSI’s 0 to 100 scale.
Notably, AI feature performance debuts at 85, nearly matching the top table-stakes interactions, suggesting that AI is moving from novelty to practical utility for many customers.
When the “cell phones” category was broken down by model type (flagship, foldables, and legacy/other), Samsung again scored higher than Apple in the flagship segment, 84 versus 82, respectively, while Apple scored one point above Samsung in the legacy/other segment, 79 versus 78, respectively. Samsung comfortably led the foldables segment with a score of 80, well ahead of Google at 72, and Motorola (Lenovo) at 70.
Meanwhile, the “smartwatches” category saw Apple and Samsung tie with scores of 80 each, with Apple unchanged year over year and Samsung down from last year’s score of 83.
Overall customer satisfaction in the “smartwatches” category also remained unchanged at 77, with “Connectivity with apps and accessories,” “Usability of fitness/activity tracking,” and “Website satisfaction” scoring the highest, at 83 each.