HP laptops overtake MacBooks in popularity in the US, Apple's quality perception declines, — survey

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) 2025 survey has revealed changes in the preferences of computer users. If earlier Apple topped the ranking of the most popular PC manufacturers, but now the first place was taken by HP. Although overall, the level of computer user satisfaction has slightly decreased compared to 2024, the study emphasized that design has become the strongest point of modern PCs. The most problematic is the interaction with call centers.

The ACSI study included 16,205 respondents who filled out questionnaires assessing expectations, quality, and perceived value of devices. The results showed that Apple, Microsoft, and Acer lost the most in the ranking — each company lost 3 points. If in 2024 Apple had 85 points and was the leader, this time its score was 82, and the company was in second place. HP also lost 1 point (from 84 to 83), but this was enough to overtake Apple and become the most popular PC manufacturer in 2025.

As for tablets, the results are even more striking — the satisfaction level fell from 81 points in 2024 to 77 in 2025. In this segment, Amazon was added to the ranking, which only emphasized the competition among manufacturers.

Interestingly, only Dell was able to improve its position: its score rose from 80 to 82 points. At the same time, other brands, including Apple, Microsoft, and Acer, have fallen.

The ACSI survey analyzed various aspects of user experience: design, software accessibility, ease of use, graphics and sound quality. Overall, the scores remained close to last year’s, but the lowest scores were for crash protection, the quality of “features” such as the OS and firmware, and the level of call center support.

The study also notes that service experience may explain the difference in satisfaction between desktops and tablets. Manufacturers are expanding their service center networks in an effort to make repairs more affordable, but high maintenance costs and limited availability of spare parts are still a major problem.

Another interesting point: users rated the experience of working with desktop computers higher than with laptops. At the same time, such criteria as satisfaction with websites should have been the same for both categories of devices.

Source: pcworld