As some eagled eyed Redditors have pointed out, Microsoft’s Surface is better than the iPad in customer satisfaction according to J.D. Power’s US Tablet Satisfaction Study. For the first time since the inception of the study, Microsoft Surface in on top with an overall satisfaction score of 855 (out of 1,000) among tablet owners, mainly because of styling & design factors.
In the areas of pre-loaded applications, internet connectivity, and availability of manufacturer-supported accessories, Microsoft was the highest performer. Surface users showed highest instances of accessory use, highlighting the true versatility of the 2-in-1 device. Specifically, consumers showed 48% usage of the stylus (vs. 27% industry average,) 51% usage of the physical keyboard (vs. 14% industry average) and 27% usage of the mouse (vs. 6% industry average.)
Microsoft also sees highest ratings in a variety of input/output connectivity and the amount of internal storage available. More notably, J.D. Power also finds that Microsoft has the highest performance in styling & design attributes, size of tablet, quality of materials used, and attractiveness of tablet design. Interestingly, the study shows that those with Microsoft tablets are more likely to be early adopters of technology.
Customers using Microsoft tablets are more likely to be early adopters of technology. More than half (51%) of Microsoft customers say they “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” that they are among the first of their friends and colleagues to try new technology products. This is relevant because early adopters tend to have higher overall satisfaction (879 among those who “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” with this statement vs. 816 among those who do not).
The U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study measures customer satisfaction with tablets across five factors: performance (28%); ease of operation (22%); features (22%); styling and design (17%); and cost (11%). The 2017 study is based on experiences evaluated by 2,238 tablet owners who have owned their current device for less than one year. The study was fielded between October and December 2016, and a few other tidbits can be seen below.
Microsoft also has a higher proportion of younger customers than their competitors. Microsoft customers are notably more likely to consider productivity features as important. For example, when customers are asked the importance of their tablet to perform certain jobs well, Microsoft owners have the highest incidence of saying “very important” for jobs related to productivity. These include browsing the internet (90% vs. 75% industry average); emailing (76% vs. 61%); word processing (63% vs. 30%); and mobile payments/banking (53% vs. 40%).
To be fair, Apple was not too far behind Microsoft and was in second place on the Study with a satisfaction score of 849. This, according to MacRumors, makes Microsoft Surface “among the best” on the market, while Apple at 849 points is only “better than most.” What are your thoughts on this study? Sound off in the comments below!
