Consumer research firm J.D. Power and Associates announced today that the iPad is once again at the top of its U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Survey. It’s bad news for Samsung, which unseated Apple in the previous edition of the same survey last year. The tablet market as a whole seems to be facing a lack of enthusiasm as well, with J.D. Power reporting a largely across-the-board drop in overall consumer satisfaction.

2014 U.S. Tablet  Satisfaction Study Chart_061_Final

While consumers were happy with their Samsung purchases in October, it seems like the honeymoon period has worn off. The Korean company’s rating dropped by 12 points from the last survey, compared to Apple’s 3 point drop in the rankings. Amazon also didn’t fare that well with a rating of 817, a drop of 9 points from the previous survey.

ipadoct13J.D. Power’s rankings are drawn from a survey of more than 2,500 tablet owners, from November 2013 to February 2014. Products are ranked based on 5 categories: performance, ease of operation, features, design and cost. According to the company’s report, 25 percent of tablet owners said that cost was their leading factor in deciding which device they purchased, followed by features offered and brand reputation.

The news comes after Apple and others reported lower than expected tablet sales in the most recent quarter. That may indicate the tablet market is softening slightly, especially as users wait longer to upgrade their existing tablets, and companies come out with laptops that are lighter and smaller. Still, companies are still forging ahead with their tablet strategies.

Microsoft recently announced a press event that may involve the introduction of a Surface Mini tablet, and early rumors about the next version of Apple’s iPad have begun popping up as well.

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