Price matters: Samsung slips past Apple in tablet customer satisfaction

Samsung nudged out Apple in customer satisfaction at least in part due to pricing, according to J.D. Power.

J.D. Power's latest tablet satisfaction rankings put Samsung at a total score of 835 to Apple's 833. Samsung improved across all five factors J.D. Powers followed, but improved on cost for the win. J.D. Powers last ranked tablets in April.

Samsung's margin of victory was so slim you could basically call it a tie, but the perception that Apple's iPad is more costly is notable. For larger screen sizes, Apple and Samsung tablets are roughly the same, but the Korean electronics giant also has more lower-priced entries like the 7-inch Galaxy Tab that'll cost you less than $200. 

Here's a look at the five factors:

Apple scored well on performance and ease of operations. Among the other key findings:

• 59 percent of tablets owners buy a device in store and 41 percent go online.
• Online satisfaction for a tablet purchase was 8.5 on a 10-point scale to 8.3 on a 10-point scale for store purchases.
• Overall tablet satisfaction was 821.
• Half of consumers rely on recommendations from friends, colleagues and family.