The tech industry has been buzzing with rumors about wearable tech for some time now. Ever since Google came out with its ambitious new project for augmenting reality through a clear but computerized lens, the Google Glass, insiders have been speculating that wearable technology is going to be the thing to replace smartphones in the coming years.
The most anticipated wearable technology gadget is arguably Apple Inc.'s rumored iWatch, a nickname the company recently placed a patent on in Japan. Although it offers less features than the Glass, it's a bit more of a socially acceptable place to have a gadget on your person. That, couped with the popularity Apple brings to most of its products has given it a lot of attention, even if the company is keeping details under wraps. However, as wearable tech rumors grow, the question some are asking is, do people really want to wear their gadgets?
Nicholas Carlson of Business Insider believes they do. He uses a chart produced by a study from Kleiner Perkins partner and former Internet analyst Mary Meeker that as used in a presentation on the sate of the technology industry. The chart, posted below, shows exactly what people are looking for when they take the time to pull out their cell phones. He then argues about 95 of the estimated 150 times a day a person checks his or her smartphone for information, a user would be just as, if not more, likely to prefer to check a wrist instrument rather than pull out a phone. He believes this for the same reason wristwatches always outsell pocket watches.
However, just because someone will get use out of a device doesn't mean they're comfortable spending the amount of money it will take to get it from the store to his or her wrist. According to a poll of 1,011 Americans 18 and older cited by ComputerWorld, only 34 percent of those polled who make $100,000 or more a year would be willing to consider buying or wearing a consumer-grade smartwatch or smart glass. Once the income range drops down to $35,000 annually, the percentage of interested people actually increases to 47 percent.
College graduates were found to be the least likely to spend money on wearable technology, with interest peaking at 37 percent. However, the interest level rose to 45 percent for those who only had a high school degree. In other words, those with lower income and education seem to have more of an interest in wearable technology, meaning the future of the products depend on its availability.
