Samsung managed to beat Apple in customer satisfaction for handsets

Samsung hasn’t had a very good year. The South Korean electronics giant’s smartphone-related profits have been facing enormous pressure, particularly in China, and its flagship Galaxy S5 handset hasn’t exactly been doing well in terms of reviews. Even so, the company did win a small but significant victory in customer satisfaction, where it managed to beat out Apple for the top spot in the handset category among American customers. 

Apple may have owned Christmas, but Samsung won the year when it came to satisfying shoppers with its phones. The latest stats from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, which surveys 70,000 consumers every year, show Samsung slightly beating out Apple by two points with a satisfaction score of 81. Sure, it’s not a huge lead, but it’s a big jump for the company from last year’s score of 76. Apple, meanwhile, saw its score fall more than two points since last year. It’s always tough to read much into these numbers (was it the Galaxy S5 that helped, or just Android improvements?), but it’s still a decent win for Samsung. Don’t be surprised if Samsung ends up marketing the heck out of this during the Super Bowl.