Customers are slightly less satisfied with the iPhone 4 than they were with the iPhone 3GS, but ratings for the popular smartphone are still sky high, and most users appear to be content with Apple's response to the "death grip" issue, according to a Wednesday report from ChangeWave Research.
"Despite the waves of controversy that surrounded the iPhone 4 within days of its launch, the latest Apple release is outperforming almost every other smart phone in the industry in terms of overall customer satisfaction and meeting owners' expectations," ChangeWave researchers said in a statement.
About 93 percent of the 213 iPhone 4 users surveyed are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their devices, compared to 99 percent of iPhone 3GS users polled last year. About 72 percent fell into the "very" satisfied category, whereas 82 percent of iPhone 3GS users reported the same thing last year.
About one in three people said the iPhone 4 exceeds their expectations, while 50 percent said it met their expectations.
Though Apple has said the iPhone 4 release is its most successful product launch to date, that victory was marred somewhat by reports of reduced connectivity – or a "death grip" – when the phone was held in a certain way. Apple responded by providing every iPhone 4 user with a free bumper or case, which stops the "death grip" issue.
When asked about the antenna issues, about 64 percent of respondents said they had not experienced the "death grip." About 14 percent said it was not much of a problem, 41 percent said it was somewhat of a problem, and 7 percent said it was a big problem.
About 73 percent of people were very or somewhat satisfied with Apple's free bumper solution, but 18 percent said they were very or somewhat unsatisfied.
In terms of features, people were most pleased with the iPhone 4's screen resolution, which 49 percent of people selected as their favorite feature. About 31 percent liked the camera, followed by another 30 percent who chose the touch-screen interface.
Most of the complaints centered on AT&T and call quality.
About 27 percent said their least favorite thing about the iPhone 4 was the fact that AT&T was the carrier. Another 24 percent pointed to network quality, while 23 cited dropped calls. About 24 percent also pointed to the "death grip" issue.
ChangeWave said it found fewer dropped calls on the iPhone 4 than the iPhone 3GS – 5.2 percent vs. 6.3 percent. When Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the free bumper offer, he said that iPhone 4 has reported more dropped calls than the iPhone 3GS, though the iPhone 4 rate is less than 1 additional call per 100 than the iPhone 3GS.
"The good news for Apple is that these issues appear to be clearing up for good – and if they do, this survey shows there is a high likelihood the iPhone 4's customer satisfaction levels could end up equaling or surpassing those of the 3GS," ChangeWave concluded.