iPhone
low-profile Factory Outlet store to market Apple Certified Refurbished products — such as iPhones and iPads REUTERS/Yuya Shino/Files

J.D. Power's survey regarding the recent consumer satisfaction on smartphone has shown iPhone has the highest mark on the four major carriers in the U.S.

The survey consisted of customers of Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T on their satisfaction with the handsets they currently use. It was conducted from September 2013 to February 2014, covering thousands of customers from the four major U.S. carriers.

On a scale of 1,000 points, the devices made by Apple topped with huge scores: 849, 853, 857 and 850 on Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T respectively.

Trailing the Cupertino devices are Samsung's, coming close behind on all the four carriers. Over 21 percent of smartphone owners said "price" is the primary factor when choosing their device, plus future loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Some said they consider "features" as the primary factor when selecting a device. But this rate has declined from 57 percent in 2011 to 35 percent in 2014. This means the number of people who use "features" as the primary factor becomes less.

On the contrary, OEMs focused to improve features on their wireless devices to get an edge over the others when consumers are more concerned on the price. Easy-to-use, usefulness of apps and the capability to customize are also essential in providing positive consumer experience.

When asked of specific features which influence their buying decision, the customers cited 28 percent for biometric security and facial recognition; 35 percent for built-in sensors which measure lighting, temperature, moods and noise and 36 percent for voice control.

The U.S. Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study 2014 - Volume 1 has 13,237 smartphone customers evaluating it. These customers are with the four major carriers in the U.S. and have their smartphones for less than a year. The study gauged customer satisfaction, according to the following factors: design, 23 percent; features, 23 percent; easy to operate, 23 percent and performance, 31 percent.

They survey noted while an increasing figure of consumers consider "price" as their main factor to purchase a smartphone, choosing Apple devices which are not known to bear low-cut price points make their overall preference for iPhone.