{"id":11926,"date":"2026-05-21T03:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T02:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/acsi-samsung-edges-out-apple-in-cell-phone-satisfaction-while-apple-watch-ties-at\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T03:45:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T02:45:24","slug":"acsi-samsung-edges-out-apple-in-cell-phone-satisfaction-while-apple-watch-ties-at","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/acsi-samsung-edges-out-apple-in-cell-phone-satisfaction-while-apple-watch-ties-at\/","title":{"rendered":"ACSI: Samsung edges out Apple in cell phone satisfaction, while Apple Watch ties at\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The topic ACSI: Samsung edges out Apple in cell phone satisfaction, while Apple Watch ties at\u2026<\/strong> is currently the subject of lively discussion \u2014 readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.<\/p>\n

This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies\u2019 decisions and competitors\u2019 reactions can quickly change the picture.<\/p>\n

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has published this year\u2019s Telecommunications, Cell Phone, and Smartwatch Study. Here\u2019s how the iPhone and the Apple Watch did.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u201ccustomer sat\u201d line has become a sort of meme, particularly during Apple events and earnings calls.<\/p>\n

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Just last month, during Apple\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

This week, however, the ACSI (via Macworld) released this year\u2019s Telecommunications, Cell Phone, and Smartwatch Study, with somewhat different numbers.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In the overall \u201ccell phones\u201d category, Samsung took the top spot by holding its score at 81, while Apple slipped one point from last year to 80.<\/p>\n

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The overall score for the category rose 1% to 79. This year\u2019s study also measured AI feature performance for the first time, with the category scoring 85 on ACSI\u2019s 0 to 100 scale.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

When the \u201ccell phones\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the \u201csmartwatches\u201d category saw Apple and Samsung tie with scores of 80 each, with Apple unchanged year over year and Samsung down from last year\u2019s score of 83.<\/p>\n

Overall customer satisfaction in the \u201csmartwatches\u201d category also remained unchanged at 77, with \u201cConnectivity with apps and accessories,\u201d \u201cUsability of fitness\/activity tracking,\u201d and \u201cWebsite satisfaction\u201d scoring the highest, at 83 each.<\/p>\n