According to the latest data from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, interest in the Apple Watch among teens remains low. An October 2014 survey showed that only 16 percent of teenagers planned to purchase an Apple Watch, and now, a more recent survey shows that interest has dropped to 11 percent among the age group.
Of the 11 percent of teenagers who plan to purchase an Apple Watch, the style and design of the device are the two biggest motivators. Fitness tracking, which Apple touts as one of the key features of the Watch, is a motive for less than half of teenage Apple Watch customers. Currently, just 5 percent of teenagers own a smartwatch, according to the survey.
While teen interest in the Watch has decreased, the latest Piper Jaffray data also shows that the iPhone and iPad are still the most popular smartphone and tablet among the crowd. 66 percent of the surveyed teens own an iPhone, while 64 percent own an iPad. These numbers are down from 67 percent and 66 percent respectively in October survey, however. 72 percent of teens expect their next smartphone to be an iPhone, while 60 percent expect their next tablet to be an iPad.
Apple has been taking steps to increase Watch interest among the general public by placing it on the wrists of celebrities such as Katy Perry, Drake, Sam Smith, and Pharrell. All of the celebrities have posted something about the device on social media, with Sam Smith being the latest. Although Smith referred to the device as the Iwatch…
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And a soy latte.
As a teen this is very interesting to me, but also rings true. These aren’t what I necessarily think is right, but this is what I hear from peers everyday:
-Android phones are ugly and slow
-“I want an iPhone but don’t have the money”
-Some say the Apple Watch looks sweet and that they want one but can’t afford one
-Others say the Apple Watch is “stupid” and doesn’t add any functionality
Apple products are seen as a high-end solution, where Android products are seen as far less desirable. Very interesting. These statistics shown in the article are absolutely reflective of what I see/hear everyday.
It sounds like you are saying Apple products are still pretty desirable. But when people don’t have disposable money don’t they ask for these things as gifts?
Maybe I’m just reading to much into the differences between “would ask for a gift” and would “buy for myself.” But I wonder if actual interest is a bit higher than 11%
I actually think that 11% is pretty high, if it’s out of *ALL* teenagers. Heck 11% sounds pretty good for *ALL* people period. I don’t think it’s something everyone would be dying to get.
Disclosure: I have pre-ordered an Apple Watch and constantly look at my order to see if my shipping date has become more precise, and fall into the 20-29 demographic.
I remember it as if it was last week. July 2007. Walked into an AT&T store downtown Seattle, all hyped to see the new thing: the original iPhone. I remember being so awed and wanting one immediately. I remembering looking over at this other dude across the aisle, testing the new marvel. He looked like the typical hip/cool techy/surfer/athlete kid, probably around 18 or 19 … and I ask him … “so what do you think?” “Absolute crap”, he retorts authoritatively, then proceeds to walk out the door.
Next to him were a couple, probably in their early 20s. I could hear the woman tell the salesperson, “No way, that thing is like … way too touchy. We don’t want that. Can we see the Blackberry again?”
Playing with the device that day only convinced me more that I wanted one immediately. Came back about a week later to pick one up, and I’ve never looked back since. Articles like this occasionally remind me of those people, who I bet own an iPhone today (or at minimum, a similar/wannabe device).
Moral of the story: most of the time, most people—especially teens (along with few clown CEOs)—don’t know shìt about what they do or don’t want. My money continues to be on AAPL … convincing the many doubters, especially as the hardware evolves and the ecosystem matures.
Interesting observation. I had a somewhat similar experience with the first iPhone. When I saw the presentation I thought to myself “this is a very interesting product. Once people had time to use it for a couple of months I will probably get one – if reviews are positive.” Than my brother bought one practically at launch and I gave it a spin. Two days later I had mine. It was just a very convincing experience.
With the Apple Watch though, my experience was vastly different, trying it in the Apple store. When I first saw it I was not sure why I would want it. After having handled it in the store that impression has not changed a bit. The watch I was able to use was not tethered to a demo phone so most functions were not usable. Yes, I was able to scroll around and open apps. But they did not do much. Siri was not functioning and the sales rep could not tell me why. And while the product quality sure feels premium, it is lacking something. The digital crown is a nice invention though. It looks nice and works great. Finding my way around was very self-explainatory. Yet, there is no must-have app Apple provides as of now. In the end, third-party Apps will make or break this product. Just like the iPhone would have been a lot less successful without the App Store.
Exactly. Most people don’t have taste and don’t know what they want. Like sheep they follow the trends, and that’s true for all brands. The Apple Watch isn’t for everyone, but it’s a solid product and it looks great.
teenagers at the mercy of their parents to pay for it
Exactly!
Says who?
I hate to be the person who always has to say this but this is “10% of teens in the USA” isn’t it?
Not actually 10% of teens.
“I hate to be the person who always has to say this”
Did some witch cast a spell that forces you to go around “correcting” things in comments like an anguished puppet lacking control over your own actions? Are you the Sysiphus of internet commenters condemned to repeat the endless drudgery of an incurable pedant day after day after day?
No. Almost certainly not. You love being that person. You go onto websites every day specifically to be that person. How about just stop it.
I guess Gene hasn’t yet figured that teens are not the target demographic. Pity. They certainly were/are for iPhone but Watch usage is probably going to be more in the post-teen segment – probably 19 to 45 or so.
When the sales info comes in it would be fun if I were to be proven wrong, but I don’t think so. Watch is a post-school item, despite the bragging rights that some few will claim for owning one.
I don’t think the iPhone was something teens were getting for a while. It was super expensive, didn’t have the apps yet, and full-sized keyboard phones were the way to go for texting.
I think the watch is certainly designed with teens in mind even if it takes a little while to catch on. Aside from design and style, Messaging/notifications is at the top of the reasons to buy one. My sister is hyper connected. She is constantly on Instagram, snap chat, and iMessage. I think younger generations are always keep to adopt technologies that help them communicate.
When all the tech geeks say how stupid the animated emoji and the doodle things are, I just think maybe they aren’t the target demographic for those features. Maybe a younger group will really have fun with them.
All Wall Street knows about is the 89% of the teens who aren’t going to purchase AppleWatch and the analysts are still yapping about the death of the iPad as sales decrease every quarter. Pro-Apple factions see the glass having some juice left in it. The anti-Apple factions see it as the glass being nearly empty and leaking fast. The way I see analysts looking at AppleWatch sales is they’d like at least 30% of iPhone users wanting an AppleWatch but they’re seeing closer to 10% and that’s not high enough for them.
Apple is doing just fine but Wall Street sees the company a lot differently. All they see is problems ahead for Apple as Apple taps out the iPhone market around the world which means a significant slowdown in growth for the company. Apple may reach that trillion dollar market cap but Wall Street will only see Apple as a dying giant. That’s Wall Street’s perverse vision of Apple despite the company making significant revenue and having an abundance of cash. Totally weird. Foxconn is recycling those older iPhones in China which should definitely add to Apple’s mid-tier iPhone numbers, putting a butt-hurt on the lower cost Android smartphone market share. Wall Street will probably only see it as cutting into new iPhone sales or something worse. Apple is going to have a huge iOS ecosystem opportunity for services.
This just in: Most teens lack hundred of dollars to spend on cool but unnecessary accessories
good
The mere premise of the question is ridiculous. I don’t imagine that there are that many teens who can afford the Apple Watch. Now if you had queried their parents on how many of them might buy the Apple Watch for their teens, it might be more of interest.
and in other stereotypical research, teens who own any watch – 10%, teens who can tell time – 10%…
Where is the follow-up article, “18% of teens plan to purchase Faster and Furiouser crapcar, Turbo pop-off & Exhaust kit still most popular accessories”? Asking teens what they WANT is beyond a stupid waste of a survey.
I’d imagine the percentage that wants to bang Kim Kardashian is higher than 11%. Given the current economy, that’s just as likely to happen.
Are you kidding me?! “Only” 11 percent?! I would have been impressed by 2…. What the hell?!