There are several surprises in the survey results issued Monday by UBS’ Steve Milunovich. Of an initial 4,000 smartphone owners drawn evenly from four countries (U.S., U.K., China, Italy):
- Italians were most compliant responders (71%), Americans the least (33%).
- 70% of respondents owned at least one watch, with Americans the most likely not to own (38%), Italians the least (18%).
- 10% of smartphone owners said they were “very likely” to buy a smartwatch in the next 12 months. Another 17% were “somewhat likely.”
- Samsung Gear was the most likely device to be purchased (37%), beating the Apple Watch in every region except China. (See below).
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The Samsung Gear is currently the bestselling smartwatch on the market. The Apple Watch is not due out until early next year, and according to a UBS footnote the respondents in their survey weren’t told anything about the device’s features.
Below: Brand preference among likely smartphone buyers.
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