There’s been a lot of talk lately that Apple has lost the edge in the smartphone stakes, with numerous Android-based models considered to be as good as, if not better than the iPhone 5. Now, in a controversial new report from the Consumer Reports magazine, it’s been revealed that Apple’s latest gadget performed far worse than expected when stacked up against some of its rivals.

Consumer Reports ranked the top three smartphones for each of the main carriers in the US (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile), to see which delivered the best overall smartphone experience in the eyes of users, reports Business Insider.

All four carriers threw up surprising results, notable by the disappointing performance of the iPhone 5, which failed to even crack the top three with two carriers. Apple’s smartphone received its highest “satisfaction rating” with AT&T, racking up 77 points, just behind the Samsung Galaxy S3 (78 points) and the LG Optimus G (79 points).  The iPhone 5 also came in third with Sprint customers, scoring 75 points, with the Galaxy S3 (76 points) and the LG Optimus G (77 points) once again coming out on top.

But that was the best that Apple could do – with Verizon and T-Mobile the iPhone 5 didn’t even figure in the top three, losing out to Samsung’s Galaxy SIII and Note, Motorola’s Razr Maxx and Razr HD, and the HTC One.

Image courtesy Consumer Reports via Business Insider

In the case of T-Mobile, the explanation is simple enough, given that the iPhone 5 isn’t even available yet, but the poor performance with Verizon is a real surprise, even more so when you consider that it’s ‘unlocked’ iPhones are what sets it apart from other carriers. Clearly, its customers no longer believe that the iPhone brand is the all-conquering smartphone that it used to be.

LG’s showing was perhaps an even bigger surprise, given that the Korean company has always been seen as a bit of a black sheep in the smartphone stakes. For years, LG has stood and watched while consumers snatch up phones from Apple and Samsung in their droves, while its own products have been largely ignored – could that be about to change?

It’s not immediately apparent why consumers are so dissatisfied with the iPhone 5, which has regularly been lauded as the best smartphone Apple has ever come up with. Perhaps people are just upset that Apple didn’t come up with anything that really sets the iPhone 5 apart from the best models that Android has to offer.

There is one certainty we can take from this however; Apple’s designers will need to get their heads together and come up with something radically different for the iPhone 6 if it doesn’t want to be left for dust.