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Is the iPhone losing its charm? A study conducted by the personalized product recommendation site PerfectRec shows that the Apple smartphone is gradually losing momentum.
In its most recent data, the latest iPhone 15 series can be seen having a lower rating than its predecessor, which had a rating already viewed as unfavorable a year ago compared to the iPhone 13 lineup. Even more, the study highlights the iPhone 15 Pro as the worst premium iPhone Apple has ever created.
The findings could be troubling for Apple, especially in these times when its entire iPhone 15 series is believed to be experiencing low demand. Unfortunately for the Cupertino giant, it seems the new lineup is not impressing many of the current users.
According to the meta-analysis of PerfectRec using 695,000 user-generated reviews posted on Google, the 5-star rating of iPhones dropped to a new low with the entrance of the iPhone 15 series. The peak of its high rating was observed in the iPhone 13 at 84% 5-star rating but dipped in the iPhone 14 at 76%.
Now, the firm says the iPhone 15 series has hit a lower figure at 72%, adding the ratings of the Pro models of the lineup were not impressive.
PerfectRec believes the overheating problems faced by early adopters could be a factor for this rate decrease. A note in the study, nonetheless, shares that the numbers “may change over time,” explaining that the lower number could only be coming from early adopters.
“We theorize that there is a bit of a gap between how early adopters view a product and how it is received by more typical consumers,” wrote the firm. “The people who order an iPhone on launch day might have higher expectations and be more easily disappointed than those who purchase later in the year.”
On a positive note, PerfectRec reveals that the standard models of the iPhone 15 line received better 5-star review rates compared to their premium counterparts.
“While the early reviews for both the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are even worse than the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, the base model iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have had a better reception,” PerfectRec revealed. “It’s hard to speculate why this might be the case. Like last year’s model, the changes to the iPhone 15 were mostly modest incremental improvements. The biggest change was replacing the lightning port with USB-C. The iPhone 15 was also the cheapest iPhone lineup since 2007, once you adjust for inflation.”
