New research shows that satisfaction with Apple’s iPhone peaked with the iPhone 13, with the iPhone 14 experiencing a major drop.
According to research by PerfectRec, every generation of Apple’s iPhone has been rated higher than the last, beginning with the iPhone 6. Those ratings peaked with the iPhone 13 — particularly the iPhone 13 Pro Max — and declined substantially with the iPhone 14. In fact, the iPhone 14 is ranked lower than the iPhone 8.
PerfectRec points out that iPhones have generally been improving with each generation, while customers have also been favorably reviewing more products over time. Both of these factors likely contributed to the iPhone’s rise in customer satisfaction.
Unfortunately, the iPhone 14 didn’t bring as many improvements and changes as previous generations, which PerfectRec blames for the decline in ratings:
We suspect what happened with the iPhone 14 is that the rate of improvement simply didn’t match customer expectations. There wasn’t a big new, must-have feature and consumers didn’t view the incremental improvements as worth it, so fewer of them rated it five stars as a result. Mainstream critics generally described the iPhone 14’s performance improvements as “modest” and “a teeny upgrade.” This perception was likely reinforced by Apple’s decision to re-use the A15 chip from the iPhone 13 Pro in the base model of the iPhone 14-a decision usually reserved for their lower-priced offerings. This was the first time Apple reused a chip from the previous generation in a new flagship phone, and it wasn’t the only reused component that disappointed fans. Apple didn’t upgrade the 60hz refresh rate of base model iPhone 14 or replace the much maligned “notch” with a true holepunch lens many observers hoped they would. Instead the notch remained on the iPhone 14 base model and got a slight upgrade to the “dynamic island” on the 14 Pro and Pro Max.
Apple will need to do something innovative with the iPhone 15 if it wants to regain the level of customer satisfaction it once had.
