Apple leads the entire US PC market in consumer satisfaction

Apple is continuing to be one of the top-performing computer producers in the PC market, customer satisfaction ratings reveal, with it topping the ACSI rankings for the second year in a row.

The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index Household Appliance and Electronics Report for 2018 to 2019 shows Apple is the best PC supplier in the entire industry in the United States, achieving a "stable" ACSI score of 83 overall. This is the same score Apple attained in the previous year's survey, where it also secured first place.

For the overall chart, Samsung is in second with 81 points, down from 82 scored last year, Amazon is down from 82 to 79, HP is level at 78 points, and Acer, Dell, and Toshiba all saw improvements to 77 points from 75, 73, and 71 points respectively.

As a whole, the personal computers segment saw customer satisfaction rise from 77 points on average to 78 points. ACSI also advises the score puts Apple at the top of the charts for the notebook and tablet segments, for the MacBook and iPad ranges respectively, meanwhile, Samsung is rated the best in desktop satisfaction, closely followed by Apple.

The data is thought to show "higher perceptions of value are driving this year's improvement" for PCs, though ACSI warns this may be short-lived.

"While U.S. and China trade disputes have yet to negatively impact consumer demand, the imposition of tariffs could drive up prices, causing customers to forgo or delay purchases," said ACSI managing director David VanAmburg. "Now more than ever, computer manufacturers must demonstrate their value and necessity to overcome pricing concerns. That means focusing more on design and ease of operation, and creating more accessories."

While the tariffs will apply to most of Apple's Mac and MacBook lineup, certain computer parts imported from China destined for the Mac Pro will not receive the extra charges.

Consumers continue to be appreciative of the design of a computer, with the experience relating to it maintained at 82 points out of 100 for the industry as a whole. Graphics and sound quality has improved from 80 to 81, with software availability maintained at 80. Reliability is also up, with the "ability to keep system crashes to a minimum" up from 77 to 79 points.

Support continues to be a problem for the industry, but it is improving, with call center satisfaction up from 67 to 68 points. ACSI highlights a difference in support quality across the board, with Apple, Samsung, and Amazon the top three and leading the field "by a wide margin."

Apple's high consumer satisfaction results are not just for its tablets and computers. In June, an ACSI survey of US smartphone users saw Apple and Samsung tied with a score of 81, but while the iPhone X, 8 Plus, and SE tied with the Moto G, Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime, and S8+ with 83 points, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was at the top with 86.

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15 Comments

ArloTimetraveler 110 comments · 5 Years

About 5 years ago

I have to say my Apple experience as been very good. That is why I always try to go Apple when I can. I normally dismiss minor glitch's with quality because my overall experience has been brilliant.

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

Been buying Macs for over twenty years now. Only time I got burned was the liquid cooled Power Mac G5. Damn thing leaked and blew up the power supply. Apple fixed it free but it didn’t last long after that.

magman1979 1301 comments · 11 Years

Have as much experience as I do with ALL of the other brands listed, and knowing how shitty they are, I find it astonishing the index value between them is that close!

I can only think of two possibilities why that is...

1) This data is "sponsored", which is often the case, or
2) The majority of consumers really have become so inept that they cannot tell the differences, and we've firmly moved into the "it's good enough" mentality

minisu1980 132 comments · 10 Years

magman1979 said:

Have as much experience as I do with ALL of the other brands listed, and knowing how shitty they are, I find it astonishing the index value between them is that close!

I can only think of two possibilities why that is...

1) This data is "sponsored", which is often the case, or
2) The majority of consumers really have become so inept that they cannot tell the differences, and we've firmly moved into the "it's good enough" mentality

I think it's because the people polled only have experience with one product. Once upon a time I was a Windows guy and I just accepted the countless annoyances and let downs as the price paid for using technology. It was only after switching to my first Apple computer (iMac with first Intel processor) did I realize exactly how poor the Windows/PC experience truly was. This poll likely looks like this:
1) 70% people who have only used Windows/PC's. They don't know there are greener pastures, so they compare barren fields to one another and try to find the best one.
2) 20% people who have only used Mac. These people have only resided in green pastures so they really don't know how much better they have it then those in the barrens.
3) 10% people who were Windows and are now Mac. These people can truly appreciate the difference and the overall experience allows them to overlook small issues as they know how bad the alternative is.

AppleExposed 1805 comments · 6 Years

How is this news? Thought Apple was #1 for a decade running?

minisu1980 said:

magman1979 said:

Have as much experience as I do with ALL of the other brands listed, and knowing how shitty they are, I find it astonishing the index value between them is that close!

I can only think of two possibilities why that is...

1) This data is "sponsored", which is often the case, or
2) The majority of consumers really have become so inept that they cannot tell the differences, and we've firmly moved into the "it's good enough" mentality

I think it's because the people polled only have experience with one product. Once upon a time I was a Windows guy and I just accepted the countless annoyances and let downs as the price paid for using technology. It was only after switching to my first Apple computer (iMac with first Intel processor) did I realize exactly how poor the Windows/PC experience truly was. This poll likely looks like this:
1) 70% people who have only used Windows/PC's. They don't know there are greener pastures, so they compare barren fields to one another and try to find the best one.
2) 20% people who have only used Mac. These people have only resided in green pastures so they really don't know how much better they have it then those in the barrens.
3) 10% people who were Windows and are now Mac. These people can truly appreciate the difference and the overall experience allows them to overlook small issues as they know how bad the alternative is.

I'm in the 10%. It's funny listening to Windows users explain how crappy Apple is. LOL!

magman1979 said:

Have as much experience as I do with ALL of the other brands listed, and knowing how shitty they are, I find it astonishing the index value between them is that close!

I can only think of two possibilities why that is...

1) This data is "sponsored", which is often the case, or
2) The majority of consumers really have become so inept that they cannot tell the differences, and we've firmly moved into the "it's good enough" mentality

Windows machines are nowhere near Apple quality. What you're seeing is Apple haters spamming polls. Happens often.

It's also funny seeing every company in the world Vs. Apple.