No Interest in the Apple Watch for 69% of Americans

Apple invested a tremendous amount of time and money to develop the Apple Watch, which by many, has been slated as the most technically advanced device launched. However, according to a new poll conducted by Reuters, 69% of people in the United States have no interest in buying the Apple Watch.

This “wearable computer” is loaded with features to include the “Guests” application. With this, users can pull up information about hotel reservations and even use the device to open doors at many top hotels to include the Westin, Starwood, and Sheraton, among others. However, one of the top features is Apple Pay that makes it possible to make payments to virtually hundreds of thousands of stores.

Other key features of the Apple Watch include easy navigation, fitness and health tracking, actionable notifications, remote control functions, passbook integration, touch communications, and Siri, a voice controlled virtual assistant. Considering all the unique things that consumers can use the Apple Watch for and the relatively competitive price, it is somewhat surprising to learn that a large number of people have no interest.

The poll, which took place from March 9 through 13, involved 1,245 respondents. Each person was asked eight questions regarding their opinions about using a smartwatch in general and then more specifically the Apple Watch.

As to the question about interest in the Apple Watch, 47.5% said there was zero interest while another 22.1% of respondents indicated only slight interest. Another question posed related to how respondents felt about this latest technology. For that, 6% were not sure what to think while 25% showed some degree of interest.

Although 46% of respondents thought the Apple Watch possessed a “cool factor”, 40.6% felt differently and 13% were undecided. Of the respondents, only 29% said that compared to any other smartwatch available, they preferred to purchase the Apple Watch but 54.3% did not share that same opinion. In fact, out of 209 respondents 13% preferred an iPhone over an Apple Watch.

Also revealed in the poll was that 52% of respondents felt that all smartphones were merely a temporary fad while 43% believed at some point the smartwatch would be as common as the smartphone. Among respondents, 53.5% went as far as saying that someday, smartphones would actually be replaced by wearable devices.

Overall, the poll indicates that basic demand for the Apple Watch will be from people who currently use iPhones with the broader market not quite ready to appreciate this new technology.

For Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, the results of the Reuters poll could pose a very serious challenge specific to marketing and promotion of the Apple Watch. If that many people are not interested in buying a watch loaded with new technology, Cook will need to come up with some very creative strategies to turn things around.

The Apple Watch will be available in a wide range of materials, colors, and embellishments. Based on the exact model, the price will start as low as $350 but for the Apple Watch Edition designed with an 18-gold case, the price jumps to $10,000 and higher.

Regardless of model, preorders of the Apple Watch start on April 10 with shipping to begin on the 24th. As part of the global launch, this wearable device will be available in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, and France.