“One in ten US broadband households plan to buy a smartwatch in 2015, however, 84 percent of them won’t spend over $250 on the device, according to recent wearable research,” Phoebe Jennelyn Magdirila reports for BetaNews.
“The survey, from Parks Associates, suggests that the price point of $100 (£65) to $250 (£160) is roughly equivalent to a high-end fitness tracker,” Magdirila reports. “In addition, the study reveals that those who are willing to spend more than $500 (£320) on a smartwatch will only buy one if it works without a smartphone.”
Magdirila reports, “This is bad news for Apple as it means that not everyone will likely to purchase an Apple Watch, because of its current tethered setup and most especially because of its price tag, which begins at $349.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: People who do not have an Apple Watch do not understand what they want – as evidenced by the desire to “buy one if it works without a smartphone.” That’s not the point of Apple Watch. How often are you without your smartphone?
Was that “if it works without a smartphone” answer prompted by the way the survey question was asked? We bet it was.
This is like asking people in February 2007 — after they’d seen Steve Jobs reveal the iPhone, but before they ever used one — what they wanted most from a smartphone, a virtual keyboard or a keyboard with physical buttons? “Ooh, ooh, we need a physical keyboard!” the ignorati, who had until then had only ever touched physical keyboards, replied in lockstep unison. Yeah, well, no ya don’t.
As those who own and wear Apple Watches understand. It offers tremendous value for the money, significant time savings, and simply does not need to be untethered from your smartphone. It’s not an iPhone for your wrist. It’s an Apple Watch.