- Samsung took first place in the satisfaction of US smartphones with a tie between the Galaxy Note 10 Plus, the Galaxy S10 Plus and the Galaxy S20 Plus.
- Samsung also maintained the manufacturer’s top spot, beating former defending champions Apple.
- The entire list was dominated by Galaxy phones and iPhones.
Who Makes the Most Popular Phones in the US? No, it’s not Apple anymore. The American Customer Satisfaction Index shared its ranking of smartphone manufacturers, and Samsung took the top spot – with a three-way tie, no less.
Respondents gave the Galaxy Note 10 Plus, S10 Plus, and S20 Plus the same score of 85 points, which helped them master a highly competitive smartphone landscape. Samsung has also just ousted Apple as a top overall brand. While the 81 points remained the same, Apple dropped only slightly (80) and took second place alongside Google and Motorola.
See also: The best Android smartphones
It was still a close fight. The regular S20 and A20 just missed first place by one and two points, respectively, and fourth place was a five-way draw that included the base Galaxy S10 and four iPhones, including the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
ACSI did not explain why Samsung came out on top among smartphone manufacturers and models, although the timing of the study may have played a role. The researchers surveyed users between April 2020 and March 2021 to keep the iPhone 12 out of the picture for a few months and to add weight to the latest Galaxy phones (the S20 series was unveiled in March 2020). Throw in a pandemic that temporarily disrupted phone purchases, and the results aren’t that surprising.
The results also comment on the lack of variety in American smartphone preferences. All of the top 24 smartphone models came from either Samsung or Apple – Google and Motorola have fans but not enough to sway public awareness. It can take a while for an upstart to disrupt the status quo.
