Smartwatches are gradually moving from the early adopters toward the bigger crowd. Gradually, in that while the initial forecasts might have overshot the exponential factor in the adoption curve, the crowd is now beginning to catch up. Analysts still predict that smartwatches will be taking off quicker than the tablets did in 2010 — and we bet more than half of you will be reading this on a tablet.
IDC’s latest numbers put the Smartwatch market size for 2015 to around 24M devices. Samsung Gear was the early player to the market, and while all the buzz in 2015 seems to be around Apple Watch, Gear and Android Wear devices are bringing out their next generation, with specs on par with Apple.
As smartwatches have made it over the peak of inflated expectations, the devices are beginning to find their real value. Analysts predict smartwatches to develop toward a more powerful, full-featured processing device. However, the “killer app” for smartwatches is still likely to be “convenience”.
We have been running our own experiment around Watcher — our Smart Watch app — on the Samsung Galaxy Gear platform. The data presented here was gathered from two sources: First, a survey we ran to Watcher users. The survey totals 8,999 answers between January and December of 2015. Second, we used the use log analytics from our Watcher app.
While the data only pertains to Samsung Gear users, the large number of data points should give a representative picture of the smart watch market. Geographically, 42% of our data comes from North America, 28% from Europe, and 18% of the users are from Asia.
Demographics
The smartwatch market is still the typical early adopter game. Not surprisingly, the user population is dominantly male, with only 5,7% of female respondents.
We do expect this to change gradually as more feminine smartwatch designs enter the market, but for now, the balance between the sexes is off by a factor. Also of note is the fact that now, almost 50% of the women users are 40+ years old.
Tools or toys?
89% of the users report using their smartwatches at work, while only 11% use them primarily out of the office.
Even though smartwatches are mainly used for work purposes, our data indicates that only 10% of users do not use them over the weekend — so smartwatches provide value and stay with users also on free time.
Apps Galore?
While the paid app market for smartwatches is still in its infancy, it has created at least some activity. 30% have bought 1–2 apps, 20% 3–4 apps, and 20% report having purchased above 5 apps. 30% of users reported that they have not paid for a single app on their smartwatch.
Smart wearables are glanceables
“I wait / with silent passion / for one gesture / one glance / from you”
― Rumi, The Love Poems of Rumi
Our data shows that the watch is looked at 175 times per day(!), which puts it on par with previous data on smart phones.
A recent survey by Wristly on the Apple Watch gives somewhat smaller estimates for daily glances, but supports the notion of making frequent, quick glances for the time, or notifications for simple convenience instead of actively using apps or playing games. For future studies, it would be interesting to see how glancing at a smartwatch changes behavior toward the mobile phone.
Wristwatches overtaking pocket watches, again
Smartwatches are becoming the next big wave of tech integrating into our daily life. It’s a déjà vu of the first wave of wristwatches disrupting the pocket watch market over a century ago: The utility of the wristwatch in the action-centered lives of soldiers, divers and aviators overpowered the pocket watch and spread to the general public, eventually becoming a symbol of prosperity.
In today’s fast-paced life, you no longer need to be a soldier, diver, or aviator to benefit from convenient access to quick information on the ‘just now’. The key for smartwatches to gain back the status of the early wristwatches will be in giving you a better control of your everyday life. And this is exactly what we’re aiming to provide by combining time and time related data, like calendar and weather into a single, beautifully designed watch face, Watcher.
Watcher is available at Google Play Store, and for Samsung Galaxy Gear devices.
