Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- US cellphone satisfaction scores drop to a 10-year low, falling 4% to 78.
- Clients favor fundamentals like battery life and name high quality over new AI options.
- Apple and Samsung lead the satisfaction rankings, and 5G customers are a lot happier than these with older telephones.
Smartphones could also be getting extra highly effective and full of AI options, however American customers aren’t shopping for into the hype, a minimum of not relating to satisfaction.
In response to the newest American Buyer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) research, total satisfaction with cell telephones has dropped by 4% in comparison with final yr, scoring 78 out of 100. That’s the {industry}’s lowest mark in a decade, and a pointy reversal from the document excessive reported in 2024.
Clients nonetheless choose smartphones by the basics.Forrest Morgenson, ACSI
The annual research, based mostly on almost 27,500 client surveys collected by means of March 2025, means that an rising give attention to synthetic intelligence hasn’t landed with prospects. As an alternative, respondents rated primary options like battery life, name high quality, and design as extra vital than flashy new capabilities. “Manufacturers preserve racing so as to add new capabilities, but prospects nonetheless choose smartphones by the basics,” stated ACSI’s Forrest Morgeson in a press launch.
Regardless of the industry-wide dip, Apple and Samsung maintained the highest buyer satisfaction scores, every slipping only one level to 81. That helped them widen their lead over opponents like Google and Motorola, each of which dropped to 75. Smaller manufacturers noticed the most important hunch, falling 6% to a rating of 68.
The information additionally reveals a rising divide between customers with 5G-enabled telephones and people with older gadgets. Satisfaction amongst 5G cellphone customers stays excessive at 80, whereas customers nonetheless on 4G or earlier tech are far much less completely satisfied, averaging simply 68 after a 7% drop.
Calling and texting have been among the many top-rated features of cellphone use, whereas battery life was rated the worst a part of the expertise. Producers that proceed to push power-hungry AI options might wish to take notice.
