Huawei’s the way to go for smartphone satisfaction
Huawei wins Canstar Blue’s award for Most Satisfied Customers | Smartphones
Smartphones – the name says it all. Yes, they are phones, but they are also so much more. Does anybody just use their phones for telephone conversations anymore? The answer is no. Canstar’s latest research into phone usage reveals that over half of us use our smartphones more than our computers and laptops, and most of us use apps to communicate, rather than traditional voice calls and texting. Roughly 40% of people also consume most of their media through phones, and rely on them for all their everyday banking.
Smartphones have become not only tools to control our lives, but the medium through which we view the world. So as part of our mission to inform NZ consumers of the best smartphones on the market, Canstar Blue canvassed the opinions of 1341 New Zealanders who had purchased a new smartphone in the past two years, across a range of categories to measure and track their satisfaction.
To decide which smartphone brand offers the best level of customer satisfaction, each was rated across the following categories:
- Overall Satisfaction
- Appearance and Style
- Battery Life
- Camera Quality
- Durability/Longevity
- Speed of Processor/Browser
- Usability
- Value for Money
Coming out on top and winning Canstar Blue’s award for Most Satisfied Customers | Smartphones is Huawei, which earned Five Stars in every category apart from Usability. The only other Five Star winners were Apple and Samsung. Apple earned its Five-Star Ratings for Appearance, Speed and Usability. Samsung scored Five Stars for Appearance and Speed.
What Customers Want
Of the drivers of satisfaction in our survey, Usability is top (22%), closely followed by Durability (20%). At first glance it’s strange that Processor Speed rates lowly (8%). However, given the power of modern smartphones, most are already zippy enough to handle mobile apps without problem. Whereas Durability/Longevity is still an ongoing concern – as anybody who has cracked a screen on an expensive phone will know to their cost. Overall, the main drivers of satisfaction:
| Drivers of Satisfaction |
% |
| Usability |
22% |
| Durability/Longevity |
20% |
| Camera Quality |
16% |
| Value for Money |
12% |
| Battery Life |
12% |
| Appearance and Style |
10% |
| Processor Speed |
8% |
Our Smartphone Spend, Revealed
As phones have become more technologically advanced, their prices have also increased. The average paid for a new smartphone by those in our survey is $702, although this ranges from $781 for Aucklanders down to $450 for those living in Southland and the West Coast.
There’s also a definite pattern linking age and smartphone spend. In our survey, those aged between 18-29 spend, on average, $879 for a new smartphone, whereas the over 70s spend just $485. However, rather than taking advantage of interest-free instalments as part of a phone plan, the majority (67%) in our survey say they bought their phone outright.
Regardless of your smartphone budget, you need to know that it’s got the processor speed to crunch the apps you require, the all-important camera to capture selfies, and that it offers durability and value for money.
Given Huawei’s Five-Star performance in our Customer Satisfaction award, all Canstar’s research points to a Huawei smartphone being a very smart choice.
