Apple The Coolest Wearables Brand, Juniper Finds

With over 2,000 UK and US smartphone users asked about their use of and attitudes towards wearable technology, the survey found that tech brands are dominating the category, with fashion and sports brands lagging behind, and no fashion or sports brand supported by more than 3 per cent of respondents.

The survey additionally found that in the smartwatch segment the market is moving towards a duopoly of Apple and Samsung, with over 75 per cent of respondents preferring one of the two.

Meanwhile, only one in five consumers would be willing to pay more than US$175 for a wearable of any sort.

The survey found that, even for tech-savvy buyers, the value proposition for wearable devices still remains unclear for many, with Juniper citing the lack of a convincing use-case as being one of the main barriers. Meanwhile, fitness wearables have a convincing use-case and have become the most popular wearables category.

“As well as a more definite use, fitness devices also win on value,” Juniper analyst James Moar commented. “They are the least costly wearables in the market, and the only category consistently under $175, which our survey identifies as the price ceiling for most consumers.”

Juniper additionally found that battery life was relatively unimportant, deterring only 4 per cent of respondents from purchasing a wearable, while iOS users were more likely to buy a wearable in the near future than Android users, with there being little difference in the type of device they were likely to buy.

Juniper’s rankings are as follows: