ChangeWave: 77% of iPhone 4S owners ‘very satisfied’ but battery issues frustrate

A new survey from research specialists ChangeWave suggests that 96% of iPhone 4S owners are satisfied with their purchase, ensuring that customer satisfaction ratings for the new smartphone top those of its predecessor, the iPhone 4.

The survey, which polled 215 respondents, highlighted that 77% of iPhone 4S owners were ‘very satisfied’ with their handsets and 19% ‘somewhat satisfied’ with the new iPhone. Just 2% of owners were unsatisfied with the device, although it is not known what the remaining 2% of respondents think of their purchases.

When the iPhone 4 launched, ChangeWave identified that 72% of owners were very satisfied with their handset, with 21% somewhat satisfied. It is possible that because the iPhone experienced antenna issues, users were more dissatisfied with the device – although a 93% satisfaction rate is not to be dismissed.

Satisfaction was largely driven by Apple’s new Siri service, which serves as a voice-activated digital assistant, with 49% of respondents stating that the feature was what they liked the most about their iPhone 4S. Apple’s new iOS 5 platform also takes a lot of credit, with 39% of those surveyed admitting it was amongst the features they liked the most. The new 8-megapixel camera and faster browsing followed, as 33% and 24% favoured the features respectively.

However, the report did also highlight the frustrations of many iPhone 4S owners in terms of battery life. The survey revealed that 38% of respondents were left frustrated by the lower-than-expected battery life – with 40% admitting they had experienced battery drain – something that Apple has been working to fix after it acknowledged issues in November.

Also amongst the top dislikes were the lack of 4G, with 30% of those surveyed adding it amongst their frustrations.

When it came to dropped calls, the iPhone 4S experienced half as many (2.5%) as the iPhone 4 (5.2%), although this can be attributed to the networks on which the devices operate. To illustrate that fact, ChangeWave reports that Verizon average a 1.3% dropped call rate while AT&T iPhone 4S owners reported a 4.1% rate.