The smartwatch, which comes in models costing from $350 to a whopping $17,000 for an 18-karat gold model, is a major new product category for the technology giant, its first in five years.
According to the survey, iPhone users in the United States, a very important market for the product available April 24, 39 percent expressed interest in purchasing the watch. About half of these respondents said they were very interested. The online survey included 2,469 respondents aged 18 and older, and was conducted between March 9 and 17. Of these respondents, 788 were iPhone users.
The Apple Watch’s most likely consumer is an iPhone user because it requires an iPhone to work fully. The device allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls. According to market analysts, iPhone users will likely be the early adopters of this new technology, which is being eagerly watched by competitors such as Samsung, Sony, Google and LG, who are raring to go in the wearable tech market.
BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said that with over 100 million active iPhone users in the United States and about half a billion globally, the survey was “pretty encouraging,” considering the watch wasn’t even on sale yet. How many of those expressing interest will actually make a purchase still remains to be seen.
The survey is a hopeful sign, though, over a January survey in which only about 20 percent of iPhone users in the US reported being even in somewhat likely to get the device. Most respondents in that survey had mentioned that they would want to see the device in person first, before making a purchase.
Over 50 percent of iPhone users in the Reuters/Ipsos poll agree that smartwatches are going to become an essential technology in the near future, as common as smartphones are today. Among the general US adult population, the percentage who agreed with this statement stood at 44 percent.
