At Apple's Home Turf, Samsung Leads in Customer Satisfaction

Apple is synonymous with the United States (US) as the company was founded and is headquartered there, specifically in Cupertino, California. However, a surprising trend in the US recently concerns customer satisfaction with smartphones. In the nation that is Apple’s home turf, customers are more satisfied using Samsung smartphones over iPhones, according to a recent survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Samsung achieved a customer satisfaction score of 81 points, slightly edging out Apple’s 80 points. Last year, both companies were tied. However, in the latest report, Samsung led in overall user experience. According to the report released on 19 May, in the device category, premium flagship lines recorded the highest satisfaction scores. The Samsung Galaxy S Series led with 84 points, while Apple’s latest iPhone line scored 82. Google’s flagship smartphones followed with 80 points. According to SamMobile, the survey results are significant, particularly for Samsung, given the US market has long been one of the biggest battlegrounds for the South Korean tech giant against Apple. Consistently high customer satisfaction reflects Samsung’s successful efforts in delivering user experience and after-sales service to US consumers. In the Galaxy S25 FE, AI features such as Generative Edit are now smarter, automatically recommending removal of unwanted objects. The Audio Eraser feature also provides control to eliminate background noise in videos. ACSI also noted overall smartphone satisfaction has increased this year, with the industry average rising by 1% to 79 points after a previous decline. One factor driving this rise is the enhancement of modern smartphone features that are now deemed genuinely useful in daily use. Additionally, AI-based features were included in the survey for the first time this year. The report states many users now view AI as a practical feature rather than merely a gimmick or technological experiment. ACSI also addressed the foldable phone category, where Samsung continues to dominate the market over Google and Motorola.