Apple has fallen to second place in the 2026 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) smartphone rankings, scoring 80%—one point behind Samsung’s 81%. This marks the first time since the iPhone 11 era that Apple hasn’t shared the top position. The slight decline comes amid broader industry gains, with Google and Motorola both improving to 77%, and overall customer satisfaction in the smartphone market rising from 78% to 79%. The ACSI study introduced a new metric this year: AI feature performance. While AI features overall received an 85% satisfaction rating—ranking high among 20 categories—Apple reportedly underdelivered on its promised 'Apple Intelligence' suite. The iPhone 16 was marketed as 'Built for Apple Intelligence,' but launched before those features were available, likely affecting user ratings.

Samsung maintained its 81% score, benefiting from consistent performance and reliability, while Apple’s drop may reflect customer frustration with unmet expectations. Google and Motorola both gained two points, narrowing the gap with the top two. Even smaller brands saw a boost, rising from 68% to 73%, indicating a general improvement in user experience across the board. The industry average now stands at 79%, suggesting rising standards in areas like battery life, camera quality, and software updates.

Apple has an opportunity to regain ground at the upcoming WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, where updates to Siri and full rollout of Apple Intelligence are expected. Analysts suggest that delivering on these promises could help restore user trust. The shift underscores a growing trend: AI capability is now a key driver of customer satisfaction, not just hardware design or ecosystem integration.