The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) recently released the results of its smartphone customer satisfaction survey for the year. "The new study provides 2013 customer satisfaction benchmarks for 10 of the past year's top-selling smartphone models in the United States," stated a press release. The results indicated that the tide could be turning for the two biggest players in the smartphone market today, Apple and Samsung.

Samsung leads the industry with 42.5 million smartphones sold in Q2 2013, compared to Apple's 31.2 million. However, Apple leads in terms of profitability with 53% of total profits, compared to Samsung's 50% share.

Apple used to top customer satisfaction surveys. However, the ACSI survey showed that not one but two Samsung models beat Apple's iPhone to the top spots. The Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II received the highest rating at 84/100 each. The iPhone 5, 4S, and 4 followed with 82, 82, and 81, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 4S have not been released to the market yet, noted Forbes. The survey had a rating scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the highest. 

According to David VanAmbur, ACSI Director, Samsung smartphones had two characteristics that made them attractive to consumers. First, these devices had larger screen size and, second, its price or perceived value.