Mobile study is a wake-up call for Apple

Apple’s iPhone lost ground to Samsung Electronics and Google’s Motorola in an annual study measuring customer satisfaction.

While the device still had the top ranking among mobile-phone users, Samsung and Motorola have narrowed the gap, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which published its 2013 report yesterday. The iPhone’s rating fell to a score of 81 from 83, while Samsung climbed to 76 from 71 and Motorola increased to 77 from 73.

Sales of iPhone increased 7 percent in the last quarter, the smallest gain since the phone was introduced in 2007. Samsung, meanwhile, has seen a surge in demand for its devices. The Korean company captured a third of the global smartphone market in the first quarter - almost double Apple’s 18 percent - according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

Much of Samsung’s success has come from its Galaxy S3, which debuted last May, according to ACSI. Samsung’s 7 percent improvement “is the largest yet for any cell-phone manufacturer,” the report said. Samsung is now rolling out the follow-up to that device, the Galaxy S4.

Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple fell 0.7 percent to $439.66 at the close in New York. The stock has slumped 17 percent this year against a 17 percent gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Bloomberg