Smartwatch users rank Apple Watch best in class in new JD Power survey

Wearable device customer satisfaction rankings released by J.D. Power on Tuesday place the Apple Watch at the top of the heap, edging second-place finisher Samsung as the best smartwatch on the market today.

The J.D. Power 2016 Fitness Band Device Satisfaction Report polled 2,696 customers who purchased a smartwatch between June 2015 and June 2016. Questions covered ease of use, comfort, battery life, phone connectivity features, price, durability, display size, appearance, reliability, apps available, and customer service.

Based on the results of the survey, products were graded on a 1000-point scale. The Apple Watch was the clear winner, earning a top-ranked score of 852, which placed it ahead of Samsung's 842.

Sony (840), Fitbit (839), and LG (827) rounded out the rest of the top five.

Among those polled, Apple Watch performed strongest against the competition in comfort, styling, and ease of use. Samsung's products performed best in customer service, display size, and phone connectivity features.

Overall, 19 percent of all smartwatch customers informed J.D. Power that they had issues with their wearable device. The most common issues were related to charging the watch, user customization, and broken charging peripherals.

Samsung held a commanding lead in the far cheaper "fitness band" product category, a market segment Apple does not compete in. Samsung's score of 859 bested second-ranked Garmin, coming in at 836. The fitness band category had an average customer satisfaction ranking of 829.

The Pebble, arguably the first modern smartwatch, was released in July 2013 and wasn't included in either J.D. Power survey. Samsung's first smart watch, the Galaxy Gear, shipped to customers in September of 2013. The Apple Watch began shipping to customers on April 24, 2015.

24 Comments

larrya 608 comments · 13 Years

About 8 years ago

NO comments? 0? I just saw 4 pages of them at MR. For the record, these scores are so tight as to make them almost meaningless.

magman1979 1301 comments · 11 Years

larrya said:

NO comments? 0? I just saw 4 pages of them at MR. For the record, these scores are so tight as to make them almost meaningless.

J.D. Powers surveys have a VERY suspect ranking methodology, because if you look closely, even though the point spread is very close to the competition, consumer satisfaction scores are WAY WAY WAY ahead for the Watch...

I just LOVE mine and NEVER go a day without it! And I'm REALLY looking forward to watchOS 3!

foggyhill 4767 comments · 10 Years

larrya said:

NO comments? 0? I just saw 4 pages of them at MR. For the record, these scores are so tight as to make them almost meaningless.

Depends what the score is about huh?
The point system seems to weight everything equally or at most in and and ad hoc way; for actual users, some things are way worse than others.

Please point to me to the god damn doc and make your argument, otherwise you've just uttered: non sequitur (it does not follow from the facts).

One reason Apple satisfaction rates so high is that they actually FIX THE ISSUES IF THEY ARISE, ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT ONES; Apple's services is why you buy them.

The fact they updated the OS improving the performance and usability all through the first year of release is something no Android maker can do.

ericthehalfbee 4489 comments · 13 Years

larrya said:

NO comments? 0? I just saw 4 pages of them at MR. For the record, these scores are so tight as to make them almost meaningless.

That's just JD "adjusting" the numbers so as not to piss of the ones that finished behind Apple. Apple Watch is in a league of its own.

When watchOS 3 gets released Apple Watch satisfaction will go even higher.

nolamacguy 4750 comments · 10 Years

larrya said:

NO comments? 0? I just saw 4 pages of them at MR. For the record, these scores are so tight as to make them almost meaningless.

thats because MR is a hive of raving lunatics, most of which are haters. this story comes as no surprise to me, thus nothing to comment on.

other than this -- people will be even more satisfied once watchOS 3 drops...big time.