YONKERS, NY — Consumer Reports (CR), the nonprofit organization, can no longer recommend televisions made by Vizio, Element, RCA, and Hisense in light of new data that revealed that those brands have subpar reliability relative to other TV manufacturers. Additional survey data from CR also revealed that smartphones by Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, and Google are among the most reliable and most satisfying.

This is the first time that brand reliability and owner satisfaction are being factored into CR’s Overall Scores for TVs and smartphones, alongside the data collected during the organization’s extensive lab testing. To gauge reliability, CR surveys its members about the products they own, then uses that data to make projections about how new models from a given brand will hold up over time. Brands that rate “Fair” or “Poor” for predicted reliability are not eligible for CRs recommended lists of products, regardless of how well they perform in tests.

Seven Vizio models, and two Hisense models, that were previously recommended based on their performance in CR’s lab tests, have lost that designation. Element, and RCA did not have any such models. Only products with Overall Scores in the highest tier of their respective categories receive consideration for CR’s “Recommended” badge.

In addition, smartphones made by Sony, Asus, HTC, Huawei, and ZTE are no longer eligible to be recommended by CR, since the predicted reliability scores for those brands fell beneath the threshold. Four Sony models that were previously recommended have had that distinction removed. Apple received the highest marks for both reliability and owner satisfaction, which was enough to further narrow the gap between its latest smartphones and those of Samsung in CR’s latest ratings. More details on that development can be found at CR.org.

“As we incorporate reliability into our overall score for more product categories, we continue to see discrepancies in how products perform in our rigorous lab tests versus how well they hold up over time. But we know that consumers want products that both perform well in their daily lives and are reliable,” said Liam McCormack, Vice President of Research, Testing and Insights at Consumer Reports. “Products that earn our recommendation are more likely to offer consumers the performance they demand and the longevity they expect.”  

For more information and the latest Consumer Reports product ratings, visit CR.org.