Microsoft has beaten all of its rivals in the tablet market to come in first place in the JD Power 2017 US Tablet Satisfaction Study. It"s the first time that Microsoft has topped the charts since the survey was first introduced by JD Power, one of America"s most trusted consumer research organizations.
Overall, Microsoft scored 855 out of a possible 1,000 points, narrowly beating Apple on 849, and Samsung close behind on 847. JD Power said that Microsoft was the top performer in three areas:
- Pre-loaded applications
- Internet connectivity
- Availability of manufacturer-supported accessories
It also noted that owners of Microsoft"s Surface tablets "have the highest incidences of accessory use, which underscores the device"s versatility". 48% of owners use a stylus with the Surface (versus a tablet industry average of 27%); 51% use a physical keyboard (vs 14%); and 27% use a mouse (vs 6%). For each of these accessories, Surface also earned higher customer satisfaction than its rivals" tablets.
Microsoft achieved the "highest ratings" in two other areas: "variety of input/output connectivity and amount of internal storage available". JD Power added:
Microsoft has the highest performance in three styling & design attributes: size of tablet; quality of materials used; and attractiveness of tablet design. Microsoft continues to achieve the highest rating in the remaining styling & design attribute of location of non-display buttons/controls.
It also highlighted some insights about buyers of Surface tablets:
- Surface owners are more likely to be early adopters of new technology
- Microsoft has "a higher proportion of younger customers" among its tablet-owners, compared with those of Apple"s iPad, Samsung"s Galaxy tablets, and other rivals
- Microsoft customers are "notably more likely to consider productivity features as important"
The full summary of JD Power"s key findings from the study can be found here.
via @JDPower