Samsung beat Apple for the top spot in the ACSI cell phone satisfaction study, scoring 81 versus Apple's 80. The gap is narrow but marks a shift. Apple's iPhone score dipped one point from last year, while Samsung held steady. ACSI based the study on nearly 27,000 surveys conducted between April 2025 and March 2026.

In the flagship segment, Samsung led 84 to 82. AI feature performance debuted at 85, suggesting the technology has moved from novelty to practical use. Samsung also dominated the foldables category at 80, ahead of Google at 72 and Motorola at 70.

The smartwatch category saw Apple and Samsung tie at 80 each, with Apple unchanged year over-year. Overall smartwatch satisfaction held at 77. Apple's latest 99% satisfaction claims during the Q2 2026 earnings call now look less certain against these findings.