Apple's iPhone SE, iPhone 7 Plus take top spots in customer satisfaction index

Apple's iPhone SE and iPhone 7 Plus top a new survey of customer satisfaction amongst U.S. customers surveyed over the span of a year.

ACSI's survey polled 36,194 customers randomly selected between May 2016 and April 2017. The iPhone SE hit the top spot with 87 points, with the iPhone 7 Plus and Galaxy S6 edge+ tying for second at 86 percent.

Both the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone 7 tied with 83 points. The iPhone 5, 5s and 6s all scored 80 points, with the iPhone 6 hitting 79.

"Over the past few years, the general trend for smartphones has been toward larger screens," said ACSI Managing Director David VanAmburg about the results. "Apparently, consumers were craving a new iteration of a smaller, less expensive phone as the iPhone SE - Apple's first update to a 4-inch phone since 2013 - comes in first in ACSI this year."

The iPhone SE features the A9 processor, and has not been significantly upgraded since it's release in March 2016, beyond a doubling of storage in March. Apple has started manufacturing the device in India, and the phone is a popular lower-cost option to the iPhone 7 family.

AppleInsider called the iPhone SE "a capable, modern smartphone in a compact, ultraportable, proven chassis" in an in-depth examination shortly after original launch.

15 Comments

AI_lias 8 Years · 436 comments

About 7 years ago

I bet the iPhone 7 did not get higher due to shorter battery life, and lesser camera, which is expected. But interesting to see the SE on there at the top. I think the design is definitely the best. If they sized up that design would be better than the renders we're seeing of the new one. Slab is fab.

coolfactor 20 Years · 2342 comments

It's a solid performer in a solid form factor. Love my iPhone SE.

Ironically, the first Apple product that I fell in love with was a Mac SE. :smiley:

muthuk_vanalingam 8 Years · 1371 comments

S6 edge+ (from 2015) in second spot??? That too ahead of other iphones as well (including 7 and 6s plus)??? Hard to believe. S7 edge (2016) was a much better upgrade to S6 edge+ in last year, surprised to see it not present in the list ahead of S6 edge+. Along with S6 edge+, Note 5 was released by Samsung which was also a better device objectively speaking. Something seems to be wrong with the sample list of people chosen for the survey.

Rayz2016 8 Years · 6957 comments

muthuk_vanalingam said:

S6 edge+ (from 2015) in second spot??? That too ahead of other iphones as well (including 7 and 6s plus)??? Hard to believe. S7 edge (2016) was a much better upgrade to S6 edge+ in last year, surprised to see it not present in the list ahead of S6 edge+. Along with S6 edge+, Note 5 was released by Samsung which was also a better device objectively speaking. Something seems to be wrong with the sample list of people chosen for the survey.

I would probably say that their sample is perhaps not from the affluent end of the market. These things always depend on who you ask. Still, the results seem fair enough to me.

cali 10 Years · 3494 comments

muthuk_vanalingam said:

S6 edge+ (from 2015) in second spot??? That too ahead of other iphones as well (including 7 and 6s plus)??? Hard to believe. S7 edge (2016) was a much better upgrade to S6 edge+ in last year, surprised to see it not present in the list ahead of S6 edge+. Along with S6 edge+, Note 5 was released by Samsung which was also a better device objectively speaking. Something seems to be wrong with the sample list of people chosen for the survey.

Note 7 had "rave reviews". Let that sink in.