With all the rumors flying around prior to the Apple Watch being announced, safe to say that it was probably one of the more hyped up wearables in 2014. While the device has finally been unveiled, was it everything that fans or the tech pundits had expected it to be? Some say yes, some say no, but it seems that the majority appear to be saying no. In a recent survey conducted by Canadian investment bank, RBC Capital Markets, it was found that out of 6,000 people surveyed, only 11% of them said that they had plans to buy the Apple Watch. 24% went on to state that they are uncertain, meaning that assuming all 24% do end up buying it, that means only 35% of 6,000 participants would actually buy it. Those are some pretty low numbers.
Just 11 percent of respondees to a survey about new Apple products plan to buy an Apple Watch, according to 6,000 people quizzed by Canadian investment bank, RBC Capital Markets. A further 24 percent said they were uncertain. Given that Apple Watch is Apple’s first major new product category since the iPad this is bad news if it carries through to the tech-buying customer base at large. While it’s far from good for Apple, however, it’s also not entirely unsurprising. The smart watch/wearables industry has remained relatively niche up until now, with other rival products like the Samsung Galaxy Gear proving to be flops in the market place. As impressive as the Apple Watch looked when Tim Cook demoed it on September 9, Apple still has yet to provide compelling reasons why customers would want a smart watch, particularly with reported high price points, low battery life, and a significant crossover with iPhone functionality. A recent report suggested that Apple is aiming to sell 50 million of the Apple Watch in 2015, which if accurate would make it the top-selling iOS family device in history, with significantly higher sales than both the iPhone and iPad in their first years. RBC Capital Markets’ survey also suggested that just 16 percent of survey participants intend on using Apple Pay when it becomes available, while 47 percent report “mixed feelings” about it. As with the Apple Watch, NFC payments are not a new area, and other companies including Google have been exploring it with limited success for several years now.
