Survey finds 19% of consumers interested in buying Apple 'iWatch'

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
A new survey has discovered strong consumer interest for a hypothetical "iWatch" from Apple, with 19 percent of consumers declaring themselves "likely" to buy such a device.

Changewave


The new data from ChangeWave Research published on Friday found that 5 percent of consumers considered themselves "very likely" to purchase a smart watch from Apple for themselves or someone else. Another 14 percent indicated they are "somewhat likely" to do the same.

In comparison, 18 percent of consumers polled in January 2010 said they were likely to buy a hypothetical Apple tablet, with 4 percent of those "very likely." And another poll conducted in 2005 found that the number of people interested in purchasing an Intel-based Mac was the same: 18 percent.

The survey bodes well for an "iWatch," if Apple were to actually release such a product. The iPad has dominated the tablet landscape since its launch in 2010, fending off numerous copycats and newcomers, while the switch to Intel chips played a strong role in boosting Mac sales to new heights for the platform.

Changewave


The strongest factor driving interest in an Apple smart watch is loyalty to Apple, as 18 percent of "likely" buyers said their trust in the company is the main selling point. Another 16 percent said they are most interested in the convenience a smart watch would offer, 14 percent were interested in the "cool factor," and 11 percent said they were interested in how easily they believe such a device would interact with other Apple products.

The data suggests to the market watchers at ChangeWave that the concept of an Apple "iWatch" has "legs." The figures were culled from a survey of 1,713 primarily North American respondents, and was conducted March 4 through 19.

"Apple's track record of delivering ultra-convenient, easy to use products with a perceived ?cool factor? is driving pre-release demand for the rumored Apple 'iWatch,'" said Andy Golub of 451 Research's ChangeWave service. "While an 'iWatch' doesn't yet exist ? and if it ever does it will have to live up to super high expectations ? it has the potential to be another huge success for the Cupertino, Calif., manufacturer."

Rumors of an Apple smart watch began to pick up steam earlier this year, when a number of reports claimed that the company is developing a wearable wrist accessory. One such report claimed that the company has a 100-person team working on the project.

Interest in smart watches intensified after the Pebble raised well over $10 million in financial backing on Kickstarter last year. Since then, it's been claimed that Microsoft, Samsung, Google and LG are all working on their own smart watches.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    iWhy?

    I'll stick to my simple, two-hand Pulsar solar watch. Haven't needed to change the battery since I bought it twelve years ago.
  • Reply 2 of 42
    chabigchabig Posts: 641member


    Mazda, does your Pulsar do everything that Apple's watch does, or does it just tell time and date?

  • Reply 3 of 42
    geekdadgeekdad Posts: 1,131member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by chabig View Post


    Mazda, does your Pulsar do everything that Apple's watch does, or does it just tell time and date?



    soooo what does the Apple watch do?

  • Reply 4 of 42
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    I'm the 81%. Haven't worn a watch outside of running and cycling activities since I was in my late teens. Although if it worked like Dick Tracy's..... Hmmmmm.
  • Reply 5 of 42
    chandra69chandra69 Posts: 638member


     


     


    Quote:


    Survey finds 19% of...



     


    I think it is 91%

  • Reply 6 of 42
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by chabig View Post


    Mazda, does your Pulsar do everything that Apple's watch does, or does it just tell time and date?



     


    You're right,it tells time and date. What exactly does the iWatch do again? image


     


    Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that there will be people that will wait in line to buy one of these, but at some point the mobile device overload has to hit a brick wall. 

  • Reply 7 of 42


    what that comparison chart show us is that these surveys are meaningless.

  • Reply 8 of 42
    steven n.steven n. Posts: 1,229member
    I would strongly consider it if the right feature set was there. To me, that means security in relationship to my iPhone and iPad.
  • Reply 9 of 42
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Any survey about a nonexistent product is bollox.
  • Reply 10 of 42
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by geekdad View Post


    soooo what does the Apple watch do?



    It sends out rumors to the internet now and then.

  • Reply 11 of 42
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by geekdad View Post


    soooo what does the Apple watch do?



     


    For starters, it makes you ask questions about what it does! image


    /


    /

  • Reply 12 of 42
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,454member


     I keep finding I do not like things on my wrist. Fuelband, Nike Sportwatch, wrist bands. I do not like them. I know I'm not alone on this. 19%, to me, is a low number. Granted, it's without knowing what it truly does. But it doesn't sound like enough to warrant anything revolutionary. Maybe another hobby item like the Apple TV?

  • Reply 13 of 42
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    The new data from ChangeWave Research published on Friday found that 5 percent of consumers considered themselves "very likely" to purchase a smart watch from Apple for themselves or someone else. Another 14 percent indicated they are "somewhat likely" to do the same.

    I don't suppose they were asked how much they'd be willing to pay for a digital watch. The difference with a tablet and an iMac is that they are clearly very useful products for long periods of time. A watch is one of the least useful mobile items due to the small screen.

    How many people would pay over $100 for a digital watch?
    How different would this watch be from the old square iPod Nano with a watch strap?

    http://store.apple.com/us/product/H5112VC/A/hex-vision-metal-watchband-for-ipod-nano-6th-gen

    Would these people be happy buying a watch that needs to be charged daily if they use it for anything more than looking at the time and would they be happy to plug it into a lightning port?
    Where does Apple put the lightning port on the watch?
    Would Apple make different sizes for women and men?
    Would you get different straps?
    It wouldn't have wifi or a web browser so no 3rd party apps.

    You'd get at most:
    Music, Videos, Fitness, Podcasts, Photos, Radio, Clock and Voice Memos.

    Music, radio and podcasts requires it to have a headphone jack, which it won't because it's a watch and moving your wrist will pull on the headphones unless they are wireless or the cable is strapped to the arm.
    The screen is too small for videos and photos and it can't have a camera so they'd have to be manually transferred, which they won't be.
    This leaves fitness, the clock and voice memos. Fitness only applies to a small number of people as it links with Nike so not really a selling point for a watch. Voice memos similarly only applies to a few people.
    Push notifications are an option but you can't do anything with them because you have no keyboard.

    So really, what we're looking at is a digital watch with little more appeal than a clock face that, unlike a normal watch, has to be charged regularly. Analyst Katy Huberty thinks this would sell 50 million in a year at $200-300.

    What Apple really needs is an iBelt to smack some sense into these analysts.
  • Reply 14 of 42
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Marvin wrote: »

    How many people would pay over $100 for a digital watch?

    Plenty. G-Shocks are very popular and most cost well over $100.
  • Reply 15 of 42
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Marvin wrote: »
    What Apple really needs is an iBelt to smack some sense into these analysts.

    That would actually work better if they're planning to put a video camera in their new iDevice.
  • Reply 16 of 42
    jason98jason98 Posts: 768member
    iWatch is a mistake, loss of focus, and will surely flop spectacularly.
  • Reply 17 of 42
    chabigchabig Posts: 641member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jason98 View Post



    iWatch is a mistake, loss of focus, and will surely flop spectacularly.


    Just like an Apple music player, or an Apple phone. Apple should stick with what it knows--computers.

  • Reply 18 of 42
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    chabig wrote: »
    Just like an Apple music player, or an Apple phone. Apple should stick with what it knows--computers.

    When Jobs announced the iPod it was an unusual reaction. It was a smaller, private venue so you can't expect the energy you get at Moscone but I think the people by and large were dumbfounded by the iPod and the non-Mac direction Apple was going.
  • Reply 19 of 42
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    How much can they sell the watch for? $99? $159? $199?

    Now, if they were to make the full functionality of iOS and the full App Store available on AppleTV instead, increase it graphics capabilities, I bet they can turn that into another substantial revenue stream, one that deserves to be a full leg on the stool of Apple.
  • Reply 20 of 42
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    stelligent wrote: »
    How much can they sell the watch for? $99? $159? $199?

    Now, if they were to make the full functionality of iOS and the full App Store available on AppleTV instead, increase it graphics capabilities, I bet they can turn that into another substantial revenue stream, one that deserves to be a full leg on the stool of Apple.

    1) I think a new iWatch every year at $199 would likely be very popular. I don't see a future where wearable computers don't exist.

    2) I'd like a more fully functional Apple TV but one of the issues everyone seems to have is having to change the TV's input between the digibox, the most used device, to the Apple TV. This limits the usability because it hurts the user experience. I have been angling for an HDMI passthrough for years and it looks like MS is doing that on the Xbox 720. I hope Apple either does that or does something that makes it so you can have the one remote without changing TV inputs in some other way.
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