The iPhone 4S
Apple iPhone 4S owners have demonstrated greater satisfaction with the new device over its predecessor the iPhone 4, new research reveals.
The November 2-9 ChangeWave survey of 215 Apple iPhone 4S owners looked at their thoughts and opinions of the new device – including overall satisfaction with it, key likes and dislikes, dropped calls, and the impact of the iPhone 4S battery life issue.
Overall, iPhone 4S customer satisfaction ratings show a high degree of approval – with 77pc of owners saying they’re Very Satisfied and 19pc Somewhat Satisfied with their new iPhone. Only 2pc of owners say they are Unsatisfied with it.
These iPhone 4S satisfaction ratings are higher than those found in a July 2010 survey of iPhone 4 new owners.
iPhone 4S owners were asked about the specific features they like best about their new smartphones, and by a wide margin the Siri Digital Assistant (49pc) ranks No 1.
General Ease of Use (39pc) is the second most-liked feature, followed by the 8 Megapixel Camera with LED Flash (33pc).
The new iCloud Service (19pc) – another new Apple feature – ranked sixth in terms of things owners liked best, after Faster Web Browsing (24pc) and Screen Resolution (23pc).
iPhone 4S issues
When ChangeWave looked at what new owners disliked most about their iPhone 4S, two things dwarfed all others – Battery Life and the Lack of 4G.
A total of 38pc of owners say the iPhone 4S’ Battery Life is Too Short, while 30pc say they dislike the Lack of 4G Capability.
Only one other dislike reached into the double digits – Screen Size (11pc).
Shortly after the iPhone 4S release, media reports began focusing on a perceived problem with its battery life.
To gauge the actual impact of the battery life issue on new iPhone 4S owners, ChangeWave asked owners if they had experienced reduced battery life with their devices.
Two out of five owners said they had experienced reduced battery life with their iPhone 4S (40pc). But when asked how much of a problem this issue was for them, only 8pc of all owners said it was a Very Big Problem while 20pc said it was Somewhat of a Problem.
Apple has since released a software update to its iOS 5 operating system which, among other things, was aimed at improving the iPhone 4S’ battery life.
The ChangeWave survey also looked at the dropped-call rating among iPhone 4S owners, and compared it with the dropped-call rating of iPhone 4 owners from a July 2010 ChangeWave survey.
