Samsung Tops Apple in Watch Business

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published May 27, 9:15AM EDT

Quick Read

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) smartwatch lost to primary global rival Samsung in a recent customer satisfaction study.
The iPhone tied with Samsung’s Galaxy in the smartphone category.

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Samsung Tops Apple in Watch Business — © LeoPatrizi / Getty Images

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) smartwatch does not earn as much money as the iPhone, iPad, or Mac. However, in the most recently reported quarter, “Wearables,” which included the Apple Watch, posted revenue of $7.5 billion of the company’s $94.4 billion total. It is another Apple product that tethers people to the Apple ecosystem and helps retain consumers.

Apple lost to its primary global rival, Samsung, in the new American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Telecommunications, Cell Phone, and Smartwatch Study 2025. In the Smartwatch category, Apple scored 80, while Samsung scored 83.

ACSI’s new study ranked products and services on a scale from 0 to 100. It was in the market for 12 months, ending in March, and it rated wireless networks, cell networks, smartphones, and watches.

The iPhone tied with Samsung in the smartphone category with a score of 81. When AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile promote smartphones, the iPhone is at the head of the list, with Samsung second. Samsung’s market-leading Galaxy products run Google’s Android operating system, while the iPhone runs Apple’s iOS.

According to ACSI, “Smartwatches are rated highest for their physical traits, including durability (81), design (81), and screen resolution/quality (80).” There may be a reason smartwatch sales are below those of smartphones. “Smartwatch users rate their service experience noticeably lower compared to cell phone users.”

Smartwatches were rated across several categories. These included Bluetooth connection, screen resolution, speed and performance, the ability to track sleep patterns, audio quality, GPS, battery life, ease of making calls and texts, speed of repairs, and the helpfulness of company technicians.

Apple may face challenges it has not faced in years. The Trump administration has said it will impose 25% tariffs on its products brought into the United States. The administration says Apple should make its products in America, not India or China. High tariffs would sharply raise the retail prices of its products. It is too early to say if the breadth and quality of its product line will help it.

Why Is No One Talking About Apple’s Long-Term Artificial Intelligence Plans?

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.