The iPhone 14 ended a long string of improving customer satisfaction with base iPhone models
To reiterate, from 2012 through 2021, the iPhone saw its satisfaction rating rise or remain flat each year. That streak came to an end with 2022’s iPhone 14. And perfectrec made a point of noting that it wasn’t just the base iPhone 14 model that failed to live up to consumers’ expectations. The report says that the premium iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max models both disappointed consumers compared to the prior year’s iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max units.
Percentage of customer reviews for base model iPhone units that had a 5-star rating
The site took a look at the percentage of reviews for the base model iPhone each year that awarded each device the highest five-star rating. 69% of the reviews received by the iPhone 4 in 2010 gave the handset a 5-star rating. That dropped to 65% for the iPhone 5 although a major rebound started in 2014 when 69% of the reviews for the iPhone 6 registered as 5-stars.
Apple’s plan to differentiate Pro and non-Pro models backfired when it came to iPhone 14 customer satisfaction
Percentage of customer reviews for iPhone Pro Max models that had a 5-star rating
Also disappointing consumers was Apple’s decision to replace the notch with the Dynamic Island shape-shifting notification system on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models only. Apple’s plan to differentiate the Pro and non-Pro iPhone units is usually done to get consumers to spend the extra money it takes to purchase one of the premium models so they can have the features found only on the Pro variants. But this doesn’t help the non-Pro iPhone models generate 5-star reviews.
The site also had some other interesting data. Generating 5-star ratings on 64% of its reviews, the iPhone 5c is the “least-loved” iPhone model. With a whopping 86% of its reviews giving the phone a 5-star rating, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the “most loved” iPhone model. Compare this with the current iPhone 14 family which includes the iPhone 14 (72%), iPhone 14 Plus (75%), iPhone 14 Pro (76%), and the iPhone 14 Pro Max (80%).
Which iPhone had the largest percentage of 5-star reviews and which model had the smallest percentage of such reviews?
In case you are curious, the percentages are based on “669,543 user-generated reviews posted on Google.” The data was collected in April 2023 and as perfectrec points out, the numbers can change over time. The number of reviews per iPhone model ranged from a low of 2,304 to a high of 56,832.
