People are saying that the desktop industry is dying a slow and quiet death, what with the “post-PC” revolution of tablets and smartphones in force, and laptop computers often proving to be better options for users due to their portability. However, a new study from the American Customer Satisfaction Index suggests that consumers are actually more satisfied with desktop PCs, as compared to seemingly more popular options like laptops and tablets.
According to the ACSI’s data, the average desktop PC consumer satisfaction rating for 2014 is 81, which was one point higher than the average rating for tablets (80) and five points higher than consumer satisfaction for laptops (76). Last year, desktop PCs had a satisfaction rating of 78, which put desktops a few points behind laptops (80) and tablets (81). As such, desktops were the only type of PC where consumers were more satisfied this year than they were last year.
Talking about individual PC manufacturers, Apple proved to be the most popular brand in terms of consumer satisfaction, with an average rating of 84 for its PC products. This gave Apple a good eight-point lead over both Acer and Dell (76), a nine-point lead over Toshiba (75), and a double-digit advantage over HP (74). The “All Others” category, which refers to Asus, Lenovo, Samsung, and other PC manufacturers, was actually second behind Apple, with an average consumer rating of 72.
Considering how desktops seem to be getting “pushed” less and less with every passing year, it’s interesting to debate why these PCs give their users the most joy. But according to ACSI’s Claes Fornell, the reasons, while a bit unclear, may be simpler than we think. “Either the product is seen as more attractive now and is poised for a comeback, or it has higher customer satisfaction simply because those who were less than happy with it have moved to other devices,” Fornell opined. “If dissatisfied customers leave and satisfied customers stay, average satisfaction may well go up.”