Apple continues to lead in personal computer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction with personal computers halts a three-year slide, according to new data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The ACSI Household Appliance and Electronics Report 2016 includes desktops, laptops, and tablet computers, as well as household appliances, televisions and computer software.

With its Mac, Apple remains the overall leader in the personal computer industry, unchanged at 84, but Samsung leaps 6% to 83 in its second year of ACSI tracking. Amazon, which manufactures only tablets, gets a 3% boost to 80, while Acer, ASUS and Dell tie for the next spot at 78. HP gains 5% to 77, followed by Lenovo (+3%) and Toshiba (+4%) at 76. The combined score for all other, smaller PC manufacturers falls 4% to the bottom of the category at 73. The Mac has topped the list for over 10 years.

Personal computers gain 1.3%  to 78 on ACSI’s 100-point scale. Tablets improve by 4% to 78, reclaiming a slight edge over laptops, which rise 3% to 77. Desktop computers maintain the highest score of 81.

“In an increasingly mobile world, smartphones are the biggest threat to personal computer sales, and tablets have not been the long-term panacea the PC industry was hoping for,” says Claes Fornell, ACSI Chairman and founder. “Interestingly, the two companies that lead in smartphone satisfaction also lead the personal computer industry, although they have very different strategies regarding the future of tablets. Apple is targeting business customers on the go with laptop-like features for its iPad, while Samsung tablets occupy their own space as devices for entertainment and browsing – not laptop replacements.”