Ahead of Apple Watch unveiling study reveals 9.5% of internet users currently own a smartwatch
Ahead of Apple's smart watch unveiling in California later today, GlobalWebIndex has pulled together an infographic on just how well the wearable technology has penetrated markets all over the world.
Data gathered in the final quarter of 2014, gathered from just shy of 42,000 web users in 32 countries, found that 9.5 per cent of respondents already own a smartwatch.
Eleven per cent of males were smartwatch owners, in contrast to just eight per cent of females. The devices were most prominent in the 25 to 34 age bracket, reaching as much as 14 per cent of respondents.
Meanwhile the devices were most prominent in the Asia Pacific region, with 13 per cent of respondents owning a smartwatch.
Check out the infographic below for more.
Jason Mander, head of trends at GlobalWebIndex, said: “With Apple’s army of über-loyal fans, the Apple Watch has a better chance of cracking the mainstream than any previous smartwatch – many of the brand’s fans will be buying the new device simply because it’s an Apple product rather than because they were in the market for a smartwatch per se.
“It’s certainly pretty telling that fewer than a third of current smartwatch owners have an iPhone and that the North American and European audiences have been particularly reticent to adopt smartwatches; given that these are two of the markets which consistently post the highest figures for iPhone and iPad ownership, all the signs suggest that Apple fans have been holding out from investing in this category until the Apple Watch was ready.”
Mander concluded: “Given the Apple Watch’s premium price-tag, then, it’s unlikely that this will be the device to bring smartwatches into mainstream for Apple’s younger fans. On the other hand, high-income consumers are furthest ahead in terms of using Apple products and are also the most engaged with smartwatches, so Apple is highly likely to achieve its biggest level of success within this demographic.”