Sure, it seems these days that Google Glass grabs the headlines. But it turns out more people say they would be likely to choose smartwatches over glasses, when it comes to wearable tech. Perhaps more surprisingly, most said they were unlikely to choose either.
Of 417 consumers surveyed, 411 respondents answered questions about wearable technology recently posed by the tech news site JessicaLessin.com.
The site’s editors insist the survey is important because of the number of hardware and software developers seeking to enter the market.
The information may also be enlightening to small business owners and entrepreneurs when evaluating their future tech investment and when anticipating the kinds of devices on which others will likely be consuming their content.
Here’s how the numbers broke down.
Most Consumers May Not Use Either
Early adopters in the survey group clearly favored smartwatches over devices like Google Glass. According to the survey:
- 39 percent said they would choose to wear technology on their wrist.
- Only 10 percent chose smart glasses like the Google device.
- 6 percent chose both.
- 45 percent (the clear majority) chose neither.
In the long term, smart glasses seemed to fair only slightly better.
When asked whether they might own a smartwatch in the next 5 years, 62 percent said it was possible. Meanwhile, when asked a similar question about smart glasses, only 41 percent said they could see these devices in their future.
Even Tech Savvy Types Prefer Watches
Drilling down a bit, the survey also identified 112 out of more than 400 respondents who identified themselves as “quite” or “extremely” tech savvy, and even in this group, smartwatches were the winner.
Here, 38 percent of respondents chose the smartwatches and 17 percent the smart glasses.
What This Means to You
It’s interesting to note that, for now at least, smartwatches are still being used in conjunction with phones. So the increased popularity of smartphones and tablets may also make watches more popular as an accessory.
Small business owners and entrepreneurs may want to concentrate on the interaction between these two devices. This will help you better understand how your customers communicate and might possibly communicate as the market evolves.
Wearable Tech Photo via Shutterstock
Joshua,
Quite an eye-opener, but also quite natural. Glass is cutting edge and people tend to be tech-phobia.
When iPad was introduced in the market, I was one of those who were skeptical; I viewed iPad as yet another handheld gaming devices, disguised as business tools.
I was wrong; I end up bought one 🙂
When people think that the wearable tech worth their money, answer their problems and also their effort in learning about them, they will buy it eventually, IMO.
I think it might also depend on how it’s advertised. Remember way before iPads came out, it was ipods? Remember those uber-cool ipod adverts where dancing silhouettes were wearing them? I think those ads were largely responsible for sales.
If Glass get the advertising right, it has the potential to really take off in a big(ger) way.
Aira Bongco
The thing is, people are more comfortable in using things that they are familiar with. In this age, that would be a laptop, a smartphone and a tablet. They need to warm up to new gadgets you know. You cannot expect them to adopt it out of the blue unless you have convinced them that they need it and they cannot live without it.
I don’t think they surveyed enough people. 417 people seems low to me. This is not to say they wouldn’t come up with similar results given a larger sample of respondents.
I’m in the 45% camp; neither of the products appeals to me. However, if I really had to choose, I’d go for the watch as it’s less visible.