Survey Finds iPhone Owners Far More Satisfied than Android

iPhone customers are far more satisfied with their smartphones than owners of Android devices, according to new survey results from Changewave Research. The company also said that the iPhone was the number one preference for customers looking to buy a new smartphone in the next 90 days, with 46% of respondents saying they want an iPhone, well ahead of #2 Android at 32%.

Apple has long been in the lead for purchase preference in Changewave’s long-running surveys on smartphone use and customer purchasing plans, as you can see in the figure below. In the June quarter, Apple added to its lead, gaining two percentage points over Android’s single percentage point increase.

Another point that’s evident is that the smartphone race is currently a two-horse event, with Apple’s iPhone and the Android platform in the clear lead for customer mindshare. Research In Motion fell to its lowest point yet in Changewave’s survey, with other mobile operating systems competing for the remaining 18% not accounted for in the chart below.

Changewave Chart

We should also note that the planned purchases indicated by Changewave haven’t necessarily comported to actual sales, where Android devices passed iPhone sales earlier this year (or earlier, depending on who you ask). Apple may own customer mindshare before the sale is made, but more people are choosing Android at the actual register — Changewave’s research is focused on those plans, however, and not after-the-fact market share.

I Can’t Get No…

Customer satisfaction levels continue to show that Apple’s customers are far more happy than those using Android devices. 70% of Apple’s iPhone customers reported that they were “Very Satisfied” with their devices. Android was ranked a distant #2 in this part of the survey, with 50% of its users reporting that they were “Very Satisfied.”

Few of Microsoft’s and RIM’s customers made such claims, as you can see in the figure below, but it’s important to note that the “Windows OS” category in that figure represents a combination of Windows Phone 7 users and users of previous Windows mobile operating systems. Changewave said that when they broke out numbers for just Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s “Very Satisfied” customers jumped to 57%, a number that would put that OS in the #2 slot.

“Even so, the higher Windows Phone 7 rating has yet to produce a sustained momentum boost for Microsoft in term of buyer preferences,” the firm wrote in its report.

Changewave Chart

iCloud

The last tidbit in Changewave’s report involved iCloud, which the firm found is already having a positive effect on Apple’s customer loyalty. The survey found that 29% of Apple’s existing company were “More Likely” to buy Apple products in the future because of iCloud, a service that was announced only a month ago and has yet to be entirely rolled out.

Even more interestingly, 13% of those who do NOT own an Apple device were also “More Likely” to buy an Apple product in the future because of the service.

“This initial look at the impact of Apple’s new iCloud service shows it enhancing existing customer loyalty,” the company wrote. “But the survey also provides highly encouraging signs that iCloud will generate additional customer demand for other Apple products, not only from current Apple product owners but from a substantial numbers of non-owners as well.”